Summer Kaleidoscope
by moonmilk
Summary: Sweetness found in a bitter mixture of unrequited love and obsession taken to another level. Rated M for incestuous themes and provocative situations.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't love, no it wasn't anything but a strong tender curiosity that he had for her. To begin, how she came to be and then her silly mannerisms. The way she clumsily, and frequently, stammered over her own words, incapable of keeping up with her own thoughts, raises a favorable interest about her character outside of work. Her constant evasive behavior and yet strong indifference to his close proximity – a situation that they would often find themselves in- made him feel worried and selfish for only wanting to draw himself in even closer. It made him feel so selfish that he wanted to grab her by the shoulders and simply probe her mind through the obscure walls of her eyes, but no, he could never bring himself to be so bold. He was, as always, delicate when it came to his own emotions and believed in more illusive methods to feed his growing curiosity.

She was definitely a peculiar person, seemingly immune to his inhuman charm and uninterested in obtaining him like the other women but perhaps that was what made her sweet disposition seem even brighter, even lovelier to him. Whatever it was, it was an incessant mystery that he often pondered to himself both morning and night, in the wake of his mind and dreams. Mostly, his dreams for she occupied them frequently.

From every inch of her long limbs and deep maroon eyes over that flawless olive skin reeled him in like a fish on a hook. And that smile, that smile that didn't quite reach her eyes but still makes him shiver and ache with a hungry anticipation for more when she reaches out and places her small hand on his back briefly, a parting gift.

"I clocked out, tell Koenma I said 'Thank You' and that I will treat him for lunch sometime."

Kurama nodded his head, disguising his growing anxiety with a placid smile.

She shamelessly smiled in return and left the small floral shop, the tiny bell above the door ringing into the empty room behind her as the door slowly came to a close.

It would have made his day if she had only said it once, if she had only said the words with her own candy voice for his ears to hear alone in that room. But she never did. It was always him to end their meeting with those parting words, it was always him calling out with a breathy whisper. Her name rolled off his tongue so easily, so effortlessly. It was so sweet at the tip of his tongue and yet so bitter at the sides but it ringed with a heavenly sound against his ears and he knew that it will continue to echo and hum around his head until the next time she graces him with her presence.

"Bye, Mirim."

* * *

**Author:**

Please don't be a silent reader. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Inside the heart of every man  
There is a lust you understand  
And I'm just the same

_-Devotion, Hurts_

* * *

The worst thing that can happen when you walk into a cafe is to order a cappuccino and walk out with a latte. It's a common mistake that many people make but just as many don't catch. The small amount of froth that bubbles against a customers lips is normally the amusement that allows for such mistakes to happen. It also makes for a pretty mediocre Barista and everyone knows a crappy Barista makes for a crappy day, which is why everyone flocks for the best of the best in the underground world of imitation refinement.

It's at "_Stone Cafe" _where the underground poets and penniless university students gather to get their caffeinated fix, among other not so _cheap_ fixes. The air is obtrusive and cold, pungent with a thick smell of mixtures such as paint and fumes from flavored cigars. It's actually so thick that the colors are almost visible in the hazy atmosphere but they like it like this. All of them. It's what they write about at their small stool tables, and what they sing about between the dark brown booths and what they are dreaming about when their lidless eyes can't take the stain and sting of the air any longer.

Behind his dark cherry wood fort is the mystery, the craftsman, the desire among all the naive hearts in the room – the idol. Another hot topic that managed to float further than the doors that held them in. He squeezed the tapper cap tightly upon the granulated espresso beans then attached the hook onto the machine and as it filled the small white saucer with it's brown liquid, the milk was spinning into a cloud of bubbles beneath the steamer. Skillful hands poured thick cream into the plain espresso, lightening it's color and increasing it's volume, the puffy froth was then plopped on top and as a finishing touch, small shredded pieces of chocolate decorated the pale white froth like specks of worn gold. It was his last one for the evening and he wanted to make it somewhat memorable for his quiet customer.

A simple nod with the head gestured that they were satisfied with the product and Maru contently wiped his hands on his stained apron before undressing it from his body in a neat fold.

"Clock out Maru," said Mr. Saigo, putting on a black apron and switching up the register.

Maru saluted two fingers from his head then made his way to the back of the store. Two of the waiters were chatting in the back, their fingers feverishly hovering over the buttons on their phones as they conversed with each other.

"Yeah, she flipped out. I didn't think girls could be that crazy," he chewed the final piece of steak in his mouth, setting his utensils to the side of him.

"Ha, well if you walked in on your topless sister, It would be weird if she didn't go monkey shit on you."

The young man looked over at Maru who was pressing his time card through the mechanical slot. It punched a stamp on the black line with a large clamping sound then spat the card back up the slit. Maru took his card then walked to his locker.

"Hey, Maru, does Mirim ever go monkey shit on you for stupid accidents?"

Maru unlocked his metal locker then began to fill his pockets with his personal belongings. "She needs help managing her temper sometimes."

"What? That sweet girl has a temper? I don't believe it!" said the other waiter with a small smirk on his lips.

"Man, if she was my sister I wouldn't mind walking in on her topless," he closed his eyes and twisted a thin wooden toothpick between his teeth, imagining the unlikely incident in his head.

"Dude, she is really cute, isn't she? I'd tap that. Is it hard for you, Maru, having such a cute sister?" the boy laughed then lifted his white plastic tub preparing for the end of his break.

"I know it'd be hard for me. I'd be tempted to fuck her all the time. Maybe I should visit that flower shop she works at and see if I can't pluck her flower!" continued the waiter.

"Ha-!" laughed the bus boy, gathering the rest of his supplies and heading out. "Let me know how that goes, you pervert!"

The remaining waiter, smiled to himself, a rawness left in his mouth from the steak where pieces still lingered between the gaps in his teeth. It was dry and cotton-like against his tongue so reasonably he began to take a long drink from the glass of water by his side.

He drank casually from the glass and like lightning striking the ground it was suddenly shoved against his face. It crunched against his nose, forcing it to reach up and settle in an unnatural bump between his eyes . It cracked, bones breaking and blood gushing from his nostrils like the colorful goop that squeezes out of the gushers candy pieces. Cracking noises echoed against the empty walls like a fresh pepper shaker. _Crrrrnch_.

The sudden smack to the face pushed him off of his stool. He hit the ground with a large thud, his shoulder breaking his fall but also suffering from the hit of a solid tile floor. The glass shattered beside him, the giant pieces spun in circles within the small puddle of water that was once inside the cup. He was lucky to not get cut from the splash of glass.

The waiter lifted his hand to his nose, feeling the warmth of his blood spreading across in a messy smear on his cheeks and forehead. The thick red liquid came out in fat round globs. He was in a state of shock, staring at the dark red, almost black liquid that covered his hand. There was so much. His nose must have broke and yet the pain hasn't registered pass the blackening of his eyes.

"What the f-"

His head whipped back from a hard kick in the chin, knocking him further back on the ground, now completely flat on his back. He groaned in pain and let out another snivel from his cracked nose, the broken and loose fragments jingling like loose change in a pocket. His hand shook against his face as he tried to feel around at the damage that was done. Any ideas of fighting back or attempting to survive his possible death was drowned in the surprise of the attack and pain that writhed through his face. His face seemed to pulse with his beating heart, the pain increasing with each pump of blood into his head and never mind the difficulty of breathing that came with a shattered nose.

Maru stepped beside his head, placing a foot on his forehead and pressing down with his freshly polished black shoes. He lit a cigarette with a single match, tossing the burnt out stub on his bleeding victim.

He inhaled the fumes, his slender body pulling into itself. The gray smoke filled his lungs, swirled about, then emptied out as he exhaled. "What a filthy mouth you have." he said finally, his voice unchanged from his normal conversational exchanges. He leaned on his foot even more, applying more pressure to the boys frontal lobe.

The waiter gasped, his own blood entering his mouth, and his skull now squeezing against his brain. His eyes were blurred with a dizzy confusion and his hearing became fuzzy. Maru stared down at him before removing his foot and kneeling beside him. Skinny lines from the bottom of Mi-Rim's shoe were imprinted onto his forehead, like a temporary henna, it decorated his pale skin with inflamed red and pink hues.

Maru took another hit off of his cigarette, holding in the smoke for a while before letting it settle outside of him. He let out a singed sigh.

"What was that you said about my sister?" he asked in a raspy whisper, he tapped the side of his head, the cigarette smoking between his fingers. "Oh, right... you'd fuck her, right? " He dabbed the excess ash onto the mans chest like a dirty ashtray.

"Well, let me tell you something, friend." He playfully poked his swollen shoulder then leaned forward, his flawless face inches away from the bloodied mess that was now the waiter's indistinguishable one.

"You stay the _fuck_, away from her. And if I ever see you, make so much as a god damn glance at her, I'll rip your fucking eyes right out of their sockets and rape your fucking skull. Then I'll go ahead and fuck your sister's too," he grabbed a chunk of his sweaty hair and lifted his head off of the ground and stared hard at the man with his dark eyes. "Do you fucking understand me? You stay the fuck away from her, and maybe, just maybe I wont entertain the idea about yours anymore. After saying it out loud, I don't think I'll mind getting to know your sister a little better. She's still in High School, isn't she? Ah, the most tender years of a girls life," he dropped the man's head back onto the floor, it hit with a solid thud, then hovered his cigarette above the man's eye lid. There was blood caking in his thick eyebrow and it stained down to his temples.

He slowly touched the burning butt of the cigarette beside the man's eyelid, twisting and grinding it into his skin. It hissed and he immediately pulled away, turning his head to the side and wincing.

Maru stood up then tossed the dead cigarette on top of the crippled and bloody face.

Maru stared down at him, wiping his hands clean from the blood and glass dust with a wet wipe. He removed his shirt and changed into a casual spare T-shirt in his locker. He dressed in his coat and checked his hair in the reflection of a small mirror he has hanging on the side of his locker. He made a few quick adjustments to his hairstyle and straightened his jacket then turned to the creep on the floor.

"Now, go clean yourself up, you're a god damn bloody mess. Your sister wouldn't want to see you this way."

* * *

**Author:**

First, a quick shout out to the users **nevvy** and **verry-chan**, they are very loyal readers and great reviewers and I can't properly express how grateful I am that they take the time to read and review my stories and have taken an interest in my new one. I am extremely flattered and can shamelessly say that I smile every time I see that I have a new review and that you guys continue to motivate me to release new content. Thank you so much.

So, yes - that is Maru. Mirim's sibling. I thought that I could introduce him as strongly as possible and hopefully give everyone a good idea of what kind of mind set he has. I have to say, I am thoroughly excited to write more of him and his extreme behaviors.

Anyway, don't be a silent reader!


	3. Chapter 3

_Friskers_

_"Never try to outstubborn a cat."  
-Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love_

* * *

"Ah-"

The setting sun rested on their heads an orange blanket of light that illuminated their faces bright and clear. Her skin looked golden under that blanket. He loved the way it looked so much he reached his arms up and grabbed the light, wrapping her in its warmth and beauty,making her skin glow.

Her forehead lightly pressed against his and she stared into his green eyes, a fire burning within that was setting his heart aflame. He felt so happy, so complete. Their breaths matched and it showed with the rise and fall of their chests that gently grazed each other when they inhaled.

He wanted to speak, if only he knew what to say. If only she would stop covering his mouth with hers when he parted his lips to murmur out a sentence he had no control over to create. It was so suffocating and he loved every second of it.

He could feel her tremble against his lips as he smoothed then across her skin, down her neck and over her shoulders. She tasted just like the sun.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, raising his green orbs to her face.

Her eyes were closed and he could see the white of her teeth through the parting of her lips. He wanted to find his way through her from those lips but remained quietly before her.

"Yes, it burns."

Kurama opened his eyes, a beam of light focusing on the back of his head through a crack in his curtains. He saw only the white of his sheets and his undressed pillow, the casing tossed to the side like an article of clothing he believed to be Mirim's in his dream. A hot blush colored his cheeks and he quickly sat up with his heart beating rampant in his chest, eager to break from it's chambers.

He gently touched his lips that felt slightly swollen and hot. Raw. Was it really a dream?

* * *

She never stood in one spot, the best words that he could use to describe her restlessness was '_vagabond_', even on the quite nights when he was curious as to where she was, she was never in the same place. Some nights, she will enjoy the stillness of the night with a stroll in the park – it was never the same park but she somehow always managed to find an empty place to wander about in – other nights she relaxed in a sheltered restaurant where she can loose herself in a fictional world with the words of her paperback books. It made him wonder if she simply liked not having a home, or perhaps, in particular, liked running away. That final thought always kept him on his toes, the bigger reason as to what stopped him from pursuing her. There would be no point for him to finally come close enough, just for her to fly away.

He quietly wished that she would let him explore her but like a rose, he only needed to stay rooted to where he was, and she will eventually hover over willingly, wanting his sweetness. Of course, he did however, at least need to be strategically planted, like against the uncomfortable iron seats that surrounded the round glass table. The metal seats made his bottom slightly numb and he wondered why they created such instruments to begin with, they were slightly torturous and provided no back support. Perhaps it was a marketing trick to get people to order their food and quickly leave out of discomfort. That truth, wouldn't surprise him.

Kurama made a small glance at his wrist watch and noted that he was actually a little early which made his brows furrow discontentedly. He would have to suffer the metal seat for her arrival then the hour of their meal. He sighed and had a few bitter thoughts directed towards Koenma for choosing such a terrible place but quickly withdrew them at the sight of a figure approaching in the distance.

He couldn't quite make out the person's features yet but he knew that it was Mirim and it created a small smile on his face.

As she approached he could see her face come into view, her pronounced cheek bones catching the light from the sun and illuminating her eyes but her long legs, exposed by her shorts, distracted his gaze for a while. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun above her head and a few surviving strands straggled down the side of her face. She looked refreshing in her loose shirt.

Mirim smiled and waved at Kurama, skipping the last few steps over to him.

"Ouch, aren't those seats uncomfortable?" She didn't stop smiling, but her forehead wrinkled with the question.

Kurama rubbed the back of his neck and smiled . "Truthfully, I've become numb."

Her eyes went wide and she immediately covered the lower half of her face and laughed into her hand.

Feeling embarrassed, Kurama lifted from the seat with pink cheeks. She always made him feel so embarrassed. If he was around her any longer than their work hours and the occasional stand in for Koenma's lunch dates his face would be permanently pink.

"My brother actually made something for me to eat earlier so I'm not really that hungry right now," she twisted her lips to the side, biting on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "How does ice cream sound?" There was an encouraging look on her face, allowing his embarrassment to subside and although he was relieved that he wouldn't have to sit in the horrible chairs for much longer, he was looking forward to having a nice meal with her. Ice cream would have to suffice.

"I think that's a great idea," he smiled pushing in his chair.

She seemed adamant on finding the farthest parlor in town which happened to be a small stand alone business at the corner of a street. There were only a few tables planted outside of the building, which were all taken by groups of loud teenagers. The only room available inside the building was for the workers. They ordered their ice cream from a small window at the side and found a "comfortable" spot near the parking lot adjacent to the building.

Her lips were cherry against the cold white cream and he could see them gloss over with the transparent film of melting ice. He wanted to stare at the other wonderful features of her face- he was only able to briefly admire the color - but he was feeling so much discomfort he couldn't stand properly without feeling as if his clothing were sticking to his skin in a humid mess, which they actually were. A part of him would have preferred to endure the painful seat just to be under an umbrella again, protected from the light. Vanilla invaded the air around them which was amplified by the heat of the sun, it was slight musty and it fogged the evening in squirming waves rising from the hot cement. Kurama took in a deep breath, the sun seemed to be at it's prime and he was not enjoying it. Mirim, however didn't seem to mind so much in her shorts and airy shirt. The ice cream really hit the spot.

"Would you like a hair tie?" Mirim asked, noticing the beads of sweat appearing at the sides of his face. "It will help cool you down if your hair wasn't acting as a muffler around your neck," she unwraps a black band from her wrist and holds out her cone. "I only have this black one right now although I really like decorated ones."

He says nothing and excepts her cone cautiously, careful to not get any of the creamy contents on his hands.

Mirim smiled and rounded behind him, her eyes expressing too much amusement for Kurama to expect anything actually practical from this experiment but he remained quiet and allowed her to continue without contesting. He even quietly admitted to himself how relaxing it felt for her to gather his hair in her hands like preparing a bundle of flowers. She was gentle with the red locks, taking care not to pull on a mess of tangles or accidentally trap straggling strands of hair between individual twists in the tie. Over before Kurama could truly appreciate her intimacy, her hands left his head and she appeared before him again, her smile brightening with her teeth, a pair of dimples crater her cheeks like empty pools. Has she always had dimples?

"How does that feel? I love having long hair, but it always feels good to have it up too."

A sudden, very welcoming, breeze was suddenly in the air that Kurama wasn't capable of feeling before at the nape of his neck. It was cool against his skin and crept down his body with smooth and rippling touches. He could breath easier now.

"It makes a significant difference. Thank you," he said, returning her smile with a small one of his own. He handed her the ice cream cone, thin white streams threatening to trickle down the yellow waffle.

"Oh no!" Mirim tilted her head to lap up the escaping ice cream, her tongue swiftly smoothing over the cream, molding it back into a secured hump above the cone. She licks her lips and giggles, exhausted.

"What is Koenma's excuse this time, why isn't he here?"

The vanilla was seeping into the cone, forcing her to bite off the edges to tongue out the dissolving cream.

Kurama sighed and leaned against the brick separator, he almost forgot that he was just Koenma's replacement.

"He apologizes. His workload hasn't decreased since last week. It appears, now that demons can go between the realms so easily, there have been many requests and incidents that he needs to stay updated on."

"Like my case."

Kurama feels his breath catch in his throat before continuing, "Yes, about that, it seems that there is a new lead."

Mirim pursed her lips together then quickly finished off her treat, "A lead?"

"Yes, someone with supposed vital information has stepped forth. Koenma is in the process of securing their identity under the circumstances that the man who murdered your parents is still criminally active, which is highly likely."

Mirim was quiet, slightly overwhelmed with the frank nature of Kurama's character. It however, didn't go unnoticed. Kurama cleared his throat and reminded himself to be friendly. Although a demon like himself, Mirim was still susceptible to having her feelings hurt or insulted. He couldn't easily relate to this but understood it well enough from his experience with his human family. At times he wondered if something was wrong with him. If the ability to outwit everyone around him at the cost of his own emotions was actually a curse or nature's strategic plan to ensure his loneliness. Whatever it was, he hoped that Mirim would at least _try_ to empathize with him. It was a little selfish but something in the back of his head knew that she would.

"I guess Maru and I are lucky then," Mirim seemed to stare at herself in the reflection of someone's car, "If Koenma didn't find us, the murderer would have gotten us too. He's still probably looking for us, isn't he?"

The heat was no longer the source of Kurama's growing discomfort.

"Mirim, that's not what I-",

"Filling in for Koenma again, Kurama?!"

The couple face the direction of the voice and see the familiar blue haired girl approaching with a giddy expression on her face. Kurama straightens up and coolly places his hands in his pockets. What perfect timing. Not really.

It didn't take her long to notice Kurama's new hair, almost immediately she giggled and took a few steps closer than what he was comfortable with to examine the black band that held his hair together. Her red painted nails blurred within his wild hair and looked dangerously long to Mirim. They reminded her of Friskers, the neighbors cat. She hated that cat, it always found some way to irritate her, scratch her, bother her. Whether it was digging in her yard to take a shit or piss somewhere to mark it's territory or worst of all, scratch her, it was annoying and Botan's fingers – claws – reminded her of Friskers. And in that moment, that casual moment that only lasted a matter of seconds, Mirim hated her.

_"Don't touch him." _

Those were not fingernails but claws disguised beneath red paint. Dangerous, disgusting claws that scratch and make the skin bleed. Botan was like Friskers and Mirim hated Friskers.

Mirim casually looked away, turning back only to wave and greet Botan with an awkward smile.

"Did you tell her the great news?" she asked, sounding more excited than usual.

Mirim nodded her head and raised her brows. "Yes, he did. It's very exciting, so exciting that I should go tell Maru. Right now." She bowed her head slightly and retreated to the end of the building with backward steps. "Thanks a lot for the ice cream, Koenma still owes me a lunch date though. I'll see you both later."

_Elusive_

Kurama furrowed his brows and just like that she was gone. He sighed and Botan linked her arm with his, knocking him out of a would have been intense therapy session between himself and his, well, more of himself. One problem exchanged for another.

* * *

**Author:**

So, this is actually more content than how I wanted my chapters to be but I think I was able to cram a decent amount of information without revealing too much, right? As much as I love to write about how Kurama muses with thoughts of Mirim, I still need to introduce a conflict. Oh~Ah~ Botan, what is your relationship with Kurama? So quick to touch his hair and link arms with him. Hmm.

Anyway, don't be a silent reader! And thank you to my new reviewers! Welcome to the crew.


	4. Chapter 4

**_ Botan_**

_"I wondered what happened when you offered yourself to someone, and they opened you, only to discover you were not the gift they expected and they had to smile and nod and say thank you all the same."_

_-Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper_

* * *

Botan looked too happy and Kurama didn't look happy enough. She spoke certainly, clearly with positive notions but could never grab his attention the way she wanted to, at least not anymore. There was always something so off putting that made her feel self conscious, unworthy of his time but she selfishly took whatever she could get. It wasn't often that she could spend time with him like this but when she could she wanted to leave an impression. With that in mind she held onto his arm tightly as they walked down the park, dabble about her personal life and time as a reaper consuming a majority if their conversations.

"Oh! Let's go in there! I bet they have the new collection of nail polish I've been looking for," Botan pulled him in the direction of the store, blindsided by her slight obsession to brand nail laquor.

The shop was small and pink. It was obviously catering to the female population of Japan and it didn't help Kurama's position to be seen in the store when it came to fighting off the rumors built by jealous men and rejected women. One rumor, to be exact. The one questioning his sexuality. It actually upset him that he had to be aware of the human gender roles that he was forced to familiarize with because of strict discrimination in this realm. He never made an effort to correct the gossip or acknowledge the lie but he couldn't help but think about the back lash that he would get if any of those gossipers happened to see him visit this store. Although Kurama had no intentions of staying in the human realm after his due, he still wanted to live it out quietly without these unfortunate disturbances. He understood why there were so many discontent humans. The only discomfort, that can be brought into our organic lives – other than natural illnesses - are created by those around us. The invisible debts and nonsensical interactions that pull at the strings of our psyche.

Kurama breathed in deeply, more irritated that there might even be a negative effect than being forced to go into the store to begin with, and walked in after Botan, pleasantly surprised with the amount of merchandise that fit in the store. The items were wrapped in thin transparent plastic that crackled at the slightest touch.

Botan quickly separated from him, making her way to the back of the store where a tall shelf carried a seemingly endless supply of bottled colors for her nails. She spoke out loud generally, talking to herself but somehow directing the conversation to him at the same time.

"This color is lovely! Oh~ and this one too, don't you think?!", she had several containers in her hand that clanked against their glass shields.

"Yes, mmhm," replied Kurama, wandering around the aisles, simply looking at all of the bedazzled accessories. There was so much pink and purple shining up against the pale artificial lights of the shop that his face glimmered with a blurred version of the true color. His exploring eventually landed him in the hair accessory aisle where wooden boxes carried a pile of them, all in that thin and loud plastic wrapping.

His hands reached up and fingered around the black band that held his hair up as he stared at the items.

_"I only have this black one right now although I really like decorated ones."_

Kurama stared at the pool of unsorted and large variety of hair ties with a small smile curving the corner of his lips. He carefully sifted through the crate, making a pile on top of the piles – definite "no's" on the right and "maybe's" on the left – a very effective method. A majority of them were too flashy with giant icons attached to rhinestone blasted bands, or the decorations were simply ugly. Eventually, he narrowed it down to one, one that didn't make him wonder if she would like it or not – he knew that she would. It was simple, sweet, and cute.

_Just like her._

He stared down at it in his hand, content with his find.

"Bummer!"

Kurama quickly pocketed the hair tie in his pocket, the wrapping crackling against his jeans.

"They don't have the color I want so - Oh?" Botan stared at him a little puzzled, her face transforming into that of a cat and a curious look shining in her eyes.

"Are you buying something?" she snickered and leaned closer, eying his pockets.

Kurama lifted his chin towards the hair ties his eyebrows raising, "I was just admiring the variety,"

Botan looked at the cart and her face immediately brightened.

"I do need a new hair tie, I've had this one for so long," she smoothed her hand through her pony then reached into the box and randomly picked out a thick band decorated with purple rhinestones and small charms dangling off a section of the tie. "This one is so~ cute. The charms are a nice touch! Oh~ buy it for me please, Kurama,"

"Are you sure you want that one?" he asked, noticing the randomness of her decision.

She nodded her head eagerly and held it out to him.

"Ah, if you insist.."

He took the wrapped tie from her and made his way to the register, she followed behind him, tapping about everything in the aisle with a skinny finger.

Kurama placed the item on the counter and the woman looked from Kurama to Botan and back again at the red headed man.

"Just one?" she asked ringing up the item.

Kurama glanced over at Botan, who was distractedly looking at the dangling necklaces on a small rotating rack then looked back over at the cashier, leaning slightly closer.

"Two," he whispered, a look to his pocket, and the woman slowly nodded her head. Whether she understood or not was beyond him.

She charged the item twice and Kurama payed with cash, quickly gathering the item and leaving the store, Botan picking up the slack with a smooth stride and securing her arm between his. She smiled cheerily.

"They didn't have the color I wanted, it's supposed to be a similar one to this,"

She presented her hand before him as if a giant ring adorned her engagement finger and giggled childishly at her honesty, "Do you like it? I thought about you when I painted them like this,"

Kurama stared at her hand, wavering concerns whether she was curious as to what he held in his pocket slightly distracting. The red paint was bright and slightly harsh against her pale skin. His personal taste dictated that a lighter color, something more pastel, would flatter her more but he smiled anyway and nodded his head.

_Mirim would never wear that._

"It's lovely, you were thinking about me when you chose that color?"

He felt a little queasy.

She smiled and nodded her head contently.

"Yes, I think about you a lot, you know?"

Kurama touched the back if his neck bashfully and looked away in the direction of the surrounding trees. "I can't imagine why," he spoke with deteriorating confidence.

She suddenly stopped walking, forcing him to jerk back slightly with his preparing step. He looked back over his shoulder to her and met with her typical pout. Her bottom lip flooded over and her eyes were large and pleading.

"Don't be so modest. You honestly can't pretend like you don't know," her voice was rising.

"I don't want to make any assumptions..-"

Botan pulled her arm from their human ring and crossed her arms, the pout in her face transforming into something more angry.

"No assumptions? After everything that has happened you don't want to make an assumption,"

"Ah, Botan, please don't-"

"It's okay. Just forget it. I have somewhere to be right now," she summoned her oar and hastily hopped on it. "We'll talk about it over dinner sometime," there was a slick gleam of light slithering beneath the iris of her eyes.

Kurama sighed, feeling responsible for her distress but said nothing and watched her fly off into the sky, eventually warping into the other realm.

He scratched the side if his head.

"Oh dear, I avoided these situations in High school only for it to catch up to me now," he chuckled, a response to the mixture of shameless flattery and irony he else could he do? Chase her? It was one thing to be so warmly fancied by Botan but another to be expected to reciprocate with similar relief washed over him from her sudden departure, all the while allowing him to fall back into his mind. It's all he wanted to do anyway.

He dug his hand into the tuck of his pocket and pulled out his most recent purchase and unwrapped it from the loud package. The ribbon felt smooth beneath his thumb.

* * *

**Author:**

Don't be a silent reader!


	5. Chapter 5

_Family Comes First_

_"Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related for better or for worse...and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum."  
― Rick Riordan, The Sea of Monsters_

* * *

"Oh, really?"

"Yes!" answered Mirim, patting her hair down with a cotton white towel.

She dropped the towel onto the floor and hopped onto the edge of Maru's bed, making him bob slightly with the springs beneath the mattress. He rested the palm of his hand against his forehead then smoothed it over his dark hair, peeking beneath his hand at his sister with hazy eyes.

"Don't just leave your towel on the floor," he sighed.

Mirim reached over and took his hand in hers, revealing a slightly tired and dusty face – but still her handsome brother.

She smiled and squeezed his hand within hers, "Maru, don't you understand what this means? Koenma has a lead and if it follows through we can catch the bastard that did this to us. I think that the witness is supposed to come in to make a statement in a few days,"

"Why not sooner?" he asked, removing his hand from hers.

"To ensure the safety of the persons identity of course. We can only wait until then," she said looking her brother over. It was late in the evening and he was barely waking from his sleep. His hair was slopped on his head in a shaggy mess but it looked natural, not that different from how he wore it daily anyway.

A small smile found it's way on her brother's lips, a mischievous thought stirring in his mind, no doubt. "And what should we do till then?" He began to straighten the sheets out around them, grabbing their ends from around her sides.

"What we've been doing all along,"

Maru brought the sheets closer around them, the white slipping up and over her shoulders, her neck and wet hair.

"Stay quiet," he moved in closer as he lifted the sheets completely over their heads. "Stay still," he grabbed her arm and pulled her body down besides him, gentle but authoritative. "Stay hidden," he rested his head beside hers, an orange glow penetrating the white sheets was their only source of light but they could see the each other clearly. "That's what you mean, right?"

Mirim closed her eyes and nodded her head against his chest, breathing in long and slow. It was her favorite smell, the smoky mint and grounded espresso beans were permanently stuck to his skin and wafted off of him like a natural odor. No one had this smell but him and she couldn't quite explain why she loved it so much, maybe simply because of who it belonged to.

"I wish we were Siamese twins," she said suddenly, her voice breathy from breathing in so deeply. "That way you couldn't be anywhere without me and I can smell this all the time,"

Maru laughed and she could feel it vibrate in his chest, "Don't say weird things like that," his voice was soft and tired or maybe not tired but slightly disappointed for being teased. He wiggled a little to slip out of the bed but she clung on to him tightly, forcing him to stay squeezed between her arms, "No~" she whined, "Stay longer, we're still hiding,"

"Mirim, I have to go to work,"

"Stay," she smiled.

He sighed and positioned himself comfortably beside her once again. They exchanged roles and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer into the warmth of his chest, she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck where the smell was the strongest.

"I spoil you," he said, a smile returning to his face.

* * *

"I'm sorry, I wont be able to come in tonight. Call Marcie, she can cover my shift for me. Alright, thank you," Maru ended the call with a click of the red button on his phone as he strode down the lamp light street. The night was still and held an ominous glow of fog around his feet that separated in a poof of smoke with every step that took him closer and closer to his destination.

His black boots made no noise stepping out of the blue portal, silent and weightless into the Makai, the demon realm and his old home. He inhaled the thick fumes that lingered in the air and felt the weight of nostalgia fill his lungs like the smoke from his cigarettes. The nostalgia was fleeting and quickly left, his breathing now only offering lackluster air for his organs.

Maru sighed as he visited the familiar lots where he spent a majority of his childhood, a small twang of regret muddling his mind for intentions of defiling the wonderful neighborhood once again but not enough doubt or remorse to stop his feet from walking, or his hands from twisting the door knob open.

"I knew you would come," said the demon, sitting on the floor before a deflating flame. The sticks barely crackled against the heat, ready to give in and die.

"And yet, you are still here," answered Maru, closing the door behind him. "I guess my first warning wasn't good enough?"

The creature didn't turn but instead remained staring at the orange and yellow flickers of fire. His legs crossed and his bald head slightly tilted down. "You're sick Maru, you need help and if you never come clean or seek that help they will catch you, with or without me. I have no doubts about that,"

Maru scoffed "You're sick Maru," he mocked "Yes, I'm sick but you, you old man – you need help," he took a few confident steps closer but was thwarted at the sight of the creatures face peeking over it's shoulder. His face was wrinkled from forehead to chin and held an unnaturally purple flesh over thin and brittle bones. And then his eyes, his eyes that sagged with the bags of skin beneath, eager for eternal sleep held no shine or water glisten. They were dry and dark.

"Your mother and father look down on you with pity and disgust, Mirim will never be yours."

Maru's jaw clenched and he could feel his anger boiling up over his head, the red on his face making his emotion apparent to the old man. He calmly breathed out and took a brief break away from the writhed face, his eyes wandering to the dirt floor and burnt walls before returning to the insult of a demon before him. He scratched the side of his nose and sniffled up the remaining pride he had slowly withdrawing his blade. Then, in one swift movement he swung it straight across the creature's neck, carving a chunk of flesh off in a smooth but bloody mess.

The old creatures dry and dark eyes remained on Maru's remorseless face, a thin feeble hand reaching up at the squirting blood from his neck. He fell to the ground with a light thud and felt his insides spill out from the gaping hole beneath his face until he slowly passed, his eyes still fixed on Maru after his death.

"I'm sick?" he whispered, wiping the blood from his sword on the ragged clothes of the corpse before him. He twisted his lips to the side, contemplating whether the statement was true or not.

"Is it so sick to love your sister, grandpa? Ah, you should have just stuck with the plan and pretended to be dead," he raised his brows and slightly pouted his lips at the dead body, not giving a second thought to the wonderful toys and treats he spoiled him with as a child, or the endless amount of hugs and kisses that represented how much he loved his grandchildren.

No, Maru, really didn't care and felt nothing but promise for what he just did.

* * *

**Author: **

Do you love Maru yet?

I feel like this chapter is just a little bit messy... but I will make up for it in the next one! :) Promise

Don't be a silent reader!


	6. Chapter 6

**_Black_**

_"Think of what starlight  
And lamplight would lack  
Diamonds and fireflies  
If they couldn't lean against Black. . . ."  
― Mary O'Neill, Hailstones and Halibut Bones_

* * *

_Stone Cafe_ always brought in the strangest of Japanese pop culture to it's dark brown booths and amazing caffeinated beverages, mainly due to it's downtown location, interesting taste in décor and less than gothic looking staff.

It's all pale skin and dark lips in that place, black being the familiar color the bus boys cleaned off their cups with the handy, all black, wash cloths hung from their back pockets. All black, you say? Yes, the _Stone Cafe, _wasn't always like this however – originally starting out as a nice home styled restaurant, it was Mr. Saigo's dream turn nightmare – with the initial idea, was about to loose his shop because of those pesky sales tenant and tax fees until a magical boy stepped in one day demanding work.

His less than presentable look, under dressed and bedhead – which was in style at the time! - making it difficult for Maru to convince a hiring, not to mention paying for a new staff member would nearly drive a stake through 's heart. Seeing the conversation going nowhere, Maru did what any desperate jobless "NEET" would do, offer free labor – an offer he gladly hopped on board with.

In less than a week, Maru, alone, brought in more than twice Mr. Saigo's general monthly revenue. Oh my, that's a lot. Yes, yes it is, and all it took was for one popular blogger to happen upon the shop, thirsty for a something to warm the winter cold from her body, and be served the most delicious tasting cappuccino she has ever had by a very mysterious and handsome looking fella' named Maru. Needless to say, after a single post on her "_Eat THIS not THAT" _blog_, _accompanied by his photo, those damn gaudy booths were suddenly filled with quiet a _thirsty_ crowd.

It took a small while for Mr. Saigo to acknowledge that they were more interested in tasting Maru than the actual beverages and small meals offered at _Stone Cafe_, but once he did the store slowly but surely changed into what it is today. A dark, smoke filthy room filled with horny young people who think they're vampires. As much as he hated the idea and hated himself for selling out to an unappreciative crowd, he couldn't deny his growing bank account and happier looking staff. After Maru joined and made a few suggestions, almost all of his staff had been let go and replaced with more "hip" looking youngsters, to further cater to the stores growing fan base – predominantly women. As sickening as the idea was to whore out his own employees, he never condoned any of them getting involved with the strange customers that often initiated interesting conversations of late night rendezvouses with his staff.

Maru entering Mr. Saigo's life was the best thing that had ever happened to him, there was no denying it – other than the strange conditions that came with it such as the complete transformation of his restaurant – however, as Maru's reputation grew, so did Mr. Saigo's need to control Maru and his large fan base. On the condition to continue working there, Maru needed to stay openly single. Maru didn't oppose this idea, but even if he did there would be nothing he could do. Fire him? Loose your customers. Mr. Saigo often wondered if Maru was aware that he had no standing base for that proposal and why he never fought it but as long as he could hold that over his head, even with no proper grounding, he felt a little bit more in control of his store. So in control, that he extended the idea to the rest of his staff members.

Not that he had much control to begin with, but the only thing he had absolutely no say on was his sister, Mirim, who often visited. Although it was evident that they were siblings, Mr. Saigo noticed a growing hated and jealousy for her from Maru's fans. And once he asked to ban her from the shop, Maru prepared to leave. At that instant, Mr. Saigo ate his words and pleaded for Maru to stay, which made him realize that he owned the store but Maru ran the hell out of it. A bitter taste grew at the bottom of his tongue, festering it's way to the top like a green mold until he swallowed it down with pride and sympathy. He could look into Maru's eyes and see the determination and protective light he had for his sister, something that Mr. Saigo wish he had for his own – before she passed. And at the thought of his own deceased sister, he saw a resemblance, a resemblance to Maru that he wished he noticed before. Maru was the spitting image of himself – a nobody turned somebody with a dream, a dream that, unlike his own, became successful.

He desperately wished that he had the master hand, pulling the strings in the back to the success of his own restaurant but then was also extremely grateful to Maru for being who he wished he was. And as much as he wanted to drive his sister away from the store, one to decrease the tension that arose the moment she entered and two to stop him from painfully remembering his own, he just did what he did best, quietly stand in the back, handle the money, staffing schedule, bills, and have an open eye.

"Mirim, it's lovely to see you, as always," he lied, then playfully ruffled the top of her hair.

He always intercepted her, none of the other waiters would ever engage servitude to her, which made Mr. Saigo look bad. What was this mediocre customer service?

She swiveled slightly in her leather padded stool and swatted his hand away, smoothing her hair back into place with quick hands then let out a light laugh. "Yeah, okay," she said mockingly before resting her elbows on the bar isle and dropping a hard stare at the older man before her. He was a tall slender man, his aged face gave hints that he was possibly a heart breaker in his younger years, but those eyes were wrinkled now and his hair was gray along the sides. He had a single silver pocket watch hanging from the pocket in his maroon vest.

"What can I get you today then, little lady?" he asked, preparing a cup.

"I'm actually not staying long so -"

"The usual," interrupted Maru, sliding over with a black cloth. He was wiping down the isle of coffee drops and powdered sugar. "I'll take it from here, Mr. Saigo," smiled Maru, placing the cloth beneath a sink and turning to the sink to wash his hands.

"Ah, alright then. I'll see you later, Mirim," he said, retreating to the back with a regretful sigh.

Mirim turned to face her brother, "You always do that, I never get to taste Mr. Saigo's creations," she pouted slightly, her lips ducking out.

Maru leaned forward, a white cup twisting between his fingers in his right hand, "It's never as good as mine, you're not missing out, I promise,"

She laughed and reeled back in her seat, away from his face, until he returned back behind his work place, turning his back to start grinding the espresso. "You're such a creep, it must be why all of your fans hate me. They're creeps too," she said, taking a small glance around at the daggers being mentally stabbed into her back. She sighed and suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She's always noticed that there was a large amount of dislike for her from the frequent visitors of this place but she couldn't exactly explain where all of the animosity came from. Yes, she was close to their idol, but she was his sister and sometimes, the way they spoke to her, made her believe there was something else stirring their pots of hate, significantly unrelated to the fact that she was Maru's sibling.

"They're not creeps," he said, a small smile peeling the corner of his lips.

"But you are," she quickly spouted, he always defended them.

"Maybe, or maybe you're just jealous I'm popular and you're not," he said, the smile full grown on his face now as he placed her drink before her, a small pink hard candy floating in the middle of her white chocolate cappuccino. He always adorned her drinks with that heart candy. He supposedly gave it to only the girls he fancied but Mr. Saigo never saw him give it to anyone other than his own sister. He thought it was cute and signified a nice bond between the two, like a secret language for twins, only manifested into a small pink heart shaped candy. It meant something completely different to Maru. Sometimes it was stuck to the side of the cup, glued from the heat of the mug so she can pick it off and enjoy it separately, but most of the time it was directly in the middle of her drink, floating like a waterlily in a lake of yumminess. Mirim loved that heart, it was always the first thing she put in her mouth, picking it off of the mug was her favorite part, but on days like this when it was in the center of her drink she would let it fall into her mouth wit the liquid contents and let it ferment as she drank. Maru always made her drinks slightly bitter so that the candy wouldn't make it overly sweet.

"No, you're the jealous one. You have to work and I get to see Koenma," she smiled matter-of-factly and took a sip of her drink, her eyebrows raising as if it would make the liquid any colder.

Maru sighed and smoothed his hand over his forehead and through his hair and nodded his head, "Yes, I am. Maybe, I should just leave with you. Mr. Saigo would be mad but I think making this visit is a little more important than working,"

"Well, don't make it sound like such a hassle!" said Yusuke, taking a seat beside Mirim on an empty stool, "We don't want you to come if that's going to be the case," he scoffed with an expectant look on his face.

"Oh, Yusuke, shouldn't you be running errands for Keiko or something?" Maru joked as he continued to clean out his area. There were many white cups hanging off of small wire hooks beneath the cupboards and he took it upon himself everyday to clean them out, even if they weren't used. He's done it so many times, Mr. Saigo insists that he let them be, but that simply wouldn't do. It's become routine – a ritual and if the ritual isn't performed to his tastes and standards the day is completely thrown out the window and his routine is shot. It's become way more than just a silly habit.

"No, I'm taking your sister out instead, that's much more fun," shot Yusuke.

Maru clenched his jaw and shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath before turning around to reply with something just as nasty but Mirim stood up and interrupted his plans, placing her cup roughly on the cherry wood counter.

"It's time to go," she said, bringing her messenger bag across her chest. She hated when they argued and it happened frequently. A mutual and natural hated for each other unleashed by a silly misunderstanding ensued through Yusuke's fiance Keiko. A part of her wanted to completely blame her, but Keiko was so genuinely sweet every time they were together that she couldn't bring herself to even dislike the girl. It wasn't completely her fault, the way she looked at Maru, or the way she spoke to him, or even Maru's small flirtatious notions that made Keiko's face go bright pink. Or, maybe it was – either way it was Yusuke's insecurities that blew the whole thing out of proportion and both of them needed to suck it up and move on. Maru's black eye healed and Yusuke's nose quit bleeding, and yet the bitterness was still up in the air. All the small jabs that they made at each other throughout the day was taxing on Mirim's health. She's sure Keiko felt it ten fold every day when Yusuke came home to her. Although Maru's deviously charming good looks, quirky pick up lines, and smooth beverage making skills hooked her like a squirming fish every time, she had no personal interest in him – she was completely devoted to Yusuke and always will be. Though, like any man, it wasn't enough for Yusuke – thus grew his insecurities and the misunderstandings. The only thing that was a constant mystery to Mirim was why Maru kept the issue alive. It could all end if he just laid off. Perhaps he liked to get a rise out of Yusuke, liked to watch his eyes bulge out of his face like a frog and hop over that cherry wood table to finish what they started. Whatever the reason, the whole thing was immature and out dated, it only made her upset.

"Mirim, be safe," he called out, a worried wrinkle forming between his brows.

She only nodded her head and left with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Oh, don't worry – she will be. She's going to be with me and that sly fox you love so much," Yusuke's eyes glistened with amusement and winked. Maru wanted to leap over the table and jab a sharp object in his eye to keep it permanently closed but only balled his fist at his side with a smile.

"Good, take as long as you'd like, I'll be sure to ring Keiko and let her know you're gone. So she can have a nice and interesting visit here,"

"Why, you little-!" Yusuke lifted his fist and was about hop right over the bar isle that stood as the only barrier between them until he heard his name being called from the street. His eyes glared hard at Maru's smug face but slowly pulled back and pocketed his hands roughly to prevent them from swinging. He tongued the side of his cheek and scrunched his nose, everything to stop himself from acting out his most desired imagination and took a step back, walking backwards towards the exit, his eyes fixed on Maru.

"You're brother is a real ass, you know that?"

"Let's not talk about it," answered Mirim, checking the time on her phone.

"Yes, save the conversation for later Yusuke," interjected Kurama, "It appears everyone is here, shall we go?"

Mirim nodded her head towards Yusuke who groaned and opened his telecommunicator and prompted the portal to open before them in the alleyway. Without hesitation, Mirim entered first through the blue rings, stepping through the human world into the demon one in a matter of seconds. She started in a dirty alley aside the _Stone Cafe_ and walked out onto clean carpet in Koenma's office, a drastic change in the atmosphere around them. It was always easier to breath in that office. The smell of freshly cleaned carpet was always present among the wooden furniture and velvet covers.

There was a large stack of papers on both ends of his desk that he grabbed from, stamping and signing the bottom of each after briefly skimming over the proposals on each letter. Botan lingered over his desk, peeking at the sheets with curious eyes, occasionally throwing in her opinion on the matter – to stamp or not to stamp that is the question.

Without looking up from his desk, he sucked on his pacifier, "I am very busy, make it quick, how can I help you?"

Botan glanced up from the desk and saw the trio, her face immediately brightening. "Koenma sir, it's Yusuke and his friends," she smiled brightly with a slight avoidance of Kurama's gaze.

Koenma looked up and nearly fell out of his seat, he grabbed hold of his hat tightly as cleared his throat and took an authoritative stance on his propped seat. "Oh, Hello, Yusuke – Kurama - .. Mirim it's good to see you all again!"

Mirim crossed her arms and stared down at the baby man thing with an stern and disappointed look on her face. "You couldn't meet one out of all four of those lunch dates because of this?" she said with a slightly bitter tongue, she took a step forward and examined the mess on his desk, snagging a random piece of paper off of his desk.

**Proposal : ****_Open a noodle shop on the third level,_**

Mirim's eyes squinted at the simple sentence, Koenma's face brightening and flushing red as he tried to grab the paper away from her.

"Mirim, no, this is highly inappropriate -"

"Noodles? You have been approving people's requests to build a noodle shop?" Her face went pale and Koenma ceased the opportunity to snatch the sheet away from her and placed it on his desk where it rightfully belonged.

"Not just noodles, but other big projects destined to take place here!"

Mirim turned her back to him, "I hope you brought us here for a slice of good news,"

Yusuke rolled his eyes, "Is it a twin thing, becoming easily upset?"

"Are you still on about that?" shot Mirim, slightly taken aback by his comment, already irritated with Koenma's ridiculous excuses.

Kurama raised his hands defensively, "Now, now, everyone, we're not here to-"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am! You're brother is a complete prick,"

"Oh, Maru? What happened, Yusuke?" asked Koenma, taking an interest in his discomfort. Since the moment he brought the twins to the Human World and introduced them to his team he found it amusing the way Maru and Yusuke butt heads, much more so than Kuwabara and Yusuke's occasional quarrels.

"Seriously, just drop it, both of you are pricks, idiots, immature little boys – shall I go on?"

Yusuke scoffed and crossed his arms tightly around his chest, "Even his own sister admits that, fantastic,"

"She did mention you as well, Yusuke," added Botan with a very small, almost nervous smile.

Kurama sighed, "And may we carry on with the report?",

"Yes! Please, do!" Mirim said, her voice slightly raised with aggravation.

Kurama wanted to smooth his hand across Mirim's face to erase the aggressive wrinkles on her forehead when she was upset. They looked so wrong and displaced across her smooth skin that he believed with that simple gesture he'd be able to wipe them off like the frequent stains of dirt that accidentally get smudged on her face when she works in the garden.

His hand almost gave way to his will and shuddered lightly at his side but before he could do anything foolish, the lines disappeared and we replaced with attentive eyes and open ears for Koenma's words.

"Unfortunately, I don't have good news," started Koenma, returning to his small chair and taking a seat behind his desk, a somewhat defensive move, adding blockage between himself and a possible hostile character. "We lost contact with our lead," he finally said, a loud breath following after.

"What? No, how?" stammered Mirim, taking a step forward.

Koenma shifted uncomfortably in his seat before continuing, "He was supposed to come in today to follow a standard identity procedure, as well as make his statement so that we can place him in a witness protection system, but I fear the worst. He's a no show and wont answer the telecommunicator that we delivered to him,"

"Surely, there is a way for us to go see him then, if he is in possession of a telecommunicator we can track it's signal for his direct coordinates leading us to his current location,"

"These things have GPS on them?" Yusuke removed his from his pocket and started to examine the small case, looking at the plastic covering with curious eyes.

"Yes, exactly! Which is why I had to call for this meeting, I already checked the coordinates and they are stagnate, unmoving in one spot on the map, which means he is either hiding out there or left it behind and has moved on. Anyway I need a team to go fetch my telecommunicator back and see if that team can make contact with my witness,"

"And let me guess, we're you're retrieval dogs? Of course, Hiei and Kuwabara don't get this kind of crappy job," replied Yusuke, his arms now becoming lax at his sides.

Botan nodded her head, "Actually, Hiei is currently on hiatus, he has plans to perfect a new technique and personally, more threateningly I guess, asked for us to not summon him and Kuwabara is terribly busy with his Human studies. You two were our only solution. However, I will be accompanying you three just in case our witness is there so that we can easily deliver him to the office,"

Kurama rubbed the bottom of his chin thoughtfully, "That will be useful, especially if the witness is under incapacitated circumstances. Koenma, where exactly do the coordinates point?"

"I'm glad you asked, Kurama, if you take a look here.."

Koenma clicked a small button and a wide, transparent screen displayed before them in mid air. Thin blue lines separated it's display from their space and an image of a map appeared on the glass. A small blue dot blinked repeatedly in a corner of the map and with an expansion of his fingers the image zoned into the blue orb, enlarging the image with enhanced quality.

"This is Tsuyu, most famous for it's summer rain and -"

"My home town," finished Mirim, her eyes worried as she let out a stale breath.

* * *

**Author:** So, I apologize, I actually had this typed out but never had the time to go through to check for errors then post it up, sorry for the long wait. :( My summer job is actually pretty time consuming and tiresome haha.

Next chapter I plan on further elaborating what relationship Kurama and Botan have/had and don't worry about Hiei and Kuwabara - they are not exempt from my fiction just because they are unavailable for this current quest :) You can assume that about _all_ of the YYH _living_ cast members :) Thank you so much for your time and I hope you enjoyed it!

Don't be a silent reader!

Edit


	7. Chapter 7

**Bath**

"Vicious actions are not hurtful because they are forbidden, but forbidden because they are hurtful."

― Benjamin Franklin

* * *

The travel to Tsuyu was simple and short lived. The small group lagged behind on their trip a couple of hours because of an argument between the twin siblings but any later wouldn't have stifled the shock that nearly knocked the poor girl unconscious when they arrived at the GPS coordinates.

Lead by a quiet and fading ping that came from the telecommunicator speakers, activated on Koenma's command, they arrived across a horrific scene displayed on the very floor Mirim and Maru often rolled about on as babies. What the detectives found in that small, burned and destroyed building was their dead witness, his throat split with a gashing chunk of his jugular spilling out from the thick slit beneath his chin. Aged, his blood looked thick, brown and caked against the rocks and dirt that muddled beneath him in complete stale saturation. The humidity from the summer rain lifted the pungent odor of the corpse into the air, clouding it with a disgusting fog that seeped into the charcoal walls. Walls that once carried lovely family portraits and ornate decorations that made Mirim's mother raise her voice if any of them were touched.

At the sight of the body, Mirim was simply disgusted, a decaying and crippled body laying in her former living space - how unsanitary - until she caught a glimpse of the man's open eyes. Dark and honest, familiarly her own yet accompanied by an old wisdom that casually scolded her when she acted selfishly or pinched her brother too roughly on the arms. And that was when she fell to her knees in a sudden moment of reliving grief. Those wrinkles besides those eyes belonged to only one man, only one grandparent - her grandfather. As upset and startled as she was from the sight of her murdered grandfather, she was even more so confused and conflicted with several questions rising from the dried blood on the old man's body. Although present at the time of the murder Mirim can't recall the actual events that happened and had relied on Maru to fill in the gaps of her memory. For what she was told, everyone died - including her grandparents - this much she knew was true as provided information in their death certificates. And yet, here he was, dead but only recently so.

Mirim's hands shook so violenty that she clasped then together and held them tight against her chest in a futile attempt to collect herself. Regardless the tears squeezed from the corner of her eyes with an unpleasant sting, leaving her followers silent in the uncomfortable air behind her.

She could feel herself slowly loosing control but she desperately tried to hold in her whimpers and sobs, wanting to spare her friends any amount of her heartache. A small part of her wanted to be strong, to turn around and take control of the situation but her thoughts were too scattered for her to even think of a probable way to explain what she is experiencing.

"Mirim," Kurama knelt beside her and hesitantly placed a comforting hand on her back which surprisingly made her shake more.

She faced him with puffy eyes and opened her mouth to speak but foolishly let out a strange whimper instead. And as if it was a magic spell, her barriers broke and a flood of despair washed out of her. Mirim collapsed into his arms, clinging to him with a desperate cry and wept into his cotton shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back in an attempt to halt her shuddering and hoped that his warmth would provide her with enough comfort to massage the pain away. He couldn't see her face but knew that it would be stained with tears and was actually glad that she hid it from him.

Botan covered her mouth as if it would hide her own shock and pity that was evident in her glossy pink eyes while Yusuke could only turn his back and make preparations to call Koenma. No one was expecting this but were glad that Kurama decided to initiate the comfort.

"M-m-Maru, I need Maru," she stammered, pulling away from Kurama as if her muscles were sore.

"Mirim, " he started again, helping her up to her feet then pulling out a white handkerchief from his back pocket and pressing it against her nose. She looked obviously confused at his sudden behavior which thankfully calmed her enough to hold a single thought. She glanced down at his white shirt and noticed small blood stains where she pressed her face. With unsteady hands she brought them against his and held the white cloth against her nose. "Let's get some fresh air, then we'll talk," he said reassuringly and lead her away from the corpse, out of the crumbling house, and into the evening light of the Makai.

They sat against the cement walk that was surprisingly clean of any demon product pollution but held a couple of naturally aged cracks and tar. There once was a beautiful garden, full of roses and tulips that would seasonally sprout in the front yard of her old home - Mirim's mother enjoyed human vegetation more than that of the demon world, they provided an elegant beauty that the plans of her home world lacked - now they were old, withered shrubs and twigs.

"So you knew that man, our witness?"

Mirim nodded her head and pulled the handkerchief to look at the amount of blood that accumulated on the material. "Yes, he is Pa, my grandfather," Kurama eased her hand back over her nose with a nurturing force and she obediently complied pressing the white to her nose to stop the bleeding. "He was murdered and left in the fire, with my parents and Ma, my grandmother. So I don't know why he is suddenly here now, appearing as if he only died a couple of days ago,"

"I see, that is quite perplexing," Kurama crossed his arms in meditation, trying to think of an explanation. He saw the body himself, it was raw and young enough to still hold its form of the murder without decay. If he had died, as Mirim remembered, with the rest of her family then his body surely would be unrecoverable, practically unrecognizable for anyone to dig it out and place it there as a sick scare. Which rose an even more unanswerable question, a slit throat was the obvious answer to his cause of death - not fire or asphyxiation like the rest of her family.

"You actually remember seeing his dead body back then," questioned Yusuke,

"Yusuke!" Botan pinched him in the gut and he smacked her hand away,

"It's okay, Botan," interjected Mirim with a small reassuring smile, she has come to terms with the death of her family a long time ago, it was only the sudden shock factor of temporarily revisiting the unfortunate events once again that caused her to react so uncontrollably. "I only remember the fire, the walls were covered in the heat and Maru is holding my hand, helping me get out of the house. Before we crawl out from the gap in the door, I can barely see them laying on the floor,"

"So that's a no?"

"Yes, that's a no. But, Tsuyu does have a record of the deaths and they wouldn't write that without a body,"

"Well shit- what do I tell Koenma?" he kicked dirt up with his shoe and turned his back to the small group frustrated with the unfortunate mystery they found themselves in.

Botan sat beside Mirim and placed a hand on her knee, "Mirim, you can't remember anything more?"

She shook her head, "No, I can't. Maru said it's because the events were so traumatic that I'm suppressing the memories but I just , I feel like if that was the case I wouldn't remember escaping either, right?"

Kurama nodded his head in agreement, "that is normally the case, but it is possible that your mind only blocked out the most gruesome details," he lied. Thankful for his time as a scholar, Kurama fully understood the psychology of repressed memories and knew that this was something different. Something along the lines of another condition that he couldn't quite place his finger on. However, this knew information that Mirim subtly dropped did point his finger in someone's direction. Someone he has yet to question or passively invade, someone much closer to Mirim than anyone else and the one who probably has all of the answers - her brother.

Yusuke turned back to the group with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, he took a quick glance at everyone before nodding to Botan, "Not to butt in but, I don't think finding a dead body brings you any closer to your ex, Botan and baby breath agrees, he is not happy so we need to bounce girl,"

Botan's face turned red and she immediately shot up from the sidewalk to give him a not so friendly nudge in his side. "What's wrong with you?"

Kurama rubbed the back of his neck to rid himself of the uncomfortable tension that suddenly thickened in the air, "It's not really appropriate to be joking right now Yusuke,"

"Dang! Calm down, I'm just sayin-"

"Well, don't say anything anymore!" Botan summoned a portal and shoved Yusuke roughly through it with a push to his back. She quietly hoped that he would fall on his face in the other end of the teleport. Her face was still bright pink when she turned to look at the couple, "I'll see you guys on the other side," she laughed awkwardly and hopped into the swirling blue.

"That wasn't weird at all," added Mirim, standing up to leave through the portal after Botan. Kurama followed after her, watching her carefully, and that's when he noticed it. A small glint in her eyes behind that white cloth that covered a majority of her face. A shine that made him want to peer in and dissect her mind to find out the meaning of it - so fleeting and so true that he wasn't even sure if it actually existed, if it was really there or just a figment of his wild imagination that often accompanied the thoughts he had of her. He was sure he's seen it before, perhaps on that hot day when they got ice cream or the way she looked at him before she gently tied his hair up. Maybe even those nights when she worked late in the shop with him just to ensure the flowers were going to grow healthily. Whatever it was, it took over his senses and he knew the familiarity of it's origin wouldn't phase peacefully through his mind without confronting it so he decisively grabbed her arm, suddenly stopping her from leaving. She turned to look at him, and it was still there, clean and bright at the center of her eyes. It illuminated them.

He stared at the shine, absorbing it's strong influence until she slowly tugged her arm away from him.

"Ah, I apologize I just-"

She looked at him casually, the glint fading into the darkness of her eyes, "Don't worry, I don't think it's weird that you're her ex boyfriend," she let out a small laugh that made his cheeks feel hot and his mouth feel daft for even opening. Then she did something surprising to him, that made him feel a little less foolish, she covered her own mouth and her eyes went wide as she shook her head from side to side, "I mean, assuming that you were even concerned with what I think!" she laughed again, awkwardly this time, letting her nose free of the white cloth.

He scratched the back of his head and chuckled lightly feeling more confident in her embarrassment, "I care what you think, so much actually that I was going to ask you how you were feeling. We were questioning you but none pertaining to your standing condition,"

"Oh," she continued to laugh off her embarrassment as she distractedly folded the bloodied handkerchief, "I'm fine, I just lost it a little when I saw - you know, it's just a little scary, but I'm fine. You let me cry it out and I've come to terms with what happened a long time ago, I just want to catch the bastard that did this," she peeked at the small round blood stains she left on his shirt then briefly pointed at it, "and sorry for .. for the blood," she almost mumbled.

Kurama looked down at his shirt and smiled reassuringly, "The bloods not my concern, you are," He could see a light blush of pink cloud her cheeks briefly, "As long as you're okay, I don't mind if my shirt gets a little dirty," he sighed jokingly as he looked down at the blobs before lifting his green gaze in her direction. "We should leave before the portal closes, will you be fine after Koenma's office?"

She nodded her head, "Yes, I believe Maru will be home by that time,"

"I see, I will stop by tomorrow then to follow up,"

"Ah!" she blushed intensely this time, "that's not necessary, I'm fine,"

Kurama pocketed his hands his face becoming more solemn, "I'm afraid it is, there is more to this case than what we initially thought".

* * *

Mirim sat in the tub of foggy water. The liquid feeling warm against her skin and relaxing her muscles in her comfortable slump.

After Mirim told Maru what they found in their old home in Tsuyu he only stared at her before giving her a tight hug and a quick 'told ya so' comment that she ignored to avoid another argument. Initially, before the trip, Maru asked her not to go, saying that it was too risky, dangerous and other reasons for her not to accompany the trio back to Tsuyu but Mirim defiantly left against her brother's wishes.

Feeling sorry for his harsh words, he bought the herb relaxer that she was now seeping in, soaking up its medicine through the pores of her skin and disappearing behind the lovely steam.

Maru unpinned her hair from it's bun and collected it in his hands with clawed fingers sifting through the black silk. She closed her eyes and felt the gentle pull against her scalp, a sensation she always found to be one of the most relaxing and sleep enticing notion.

Her eyes slowly opened and peered into the green herb water that surrounded her body, her mind wandering with general ideas stringing one thought to the next. She waved her hand beneath the water, the green meshing with her olive skin made her wonder what it would be like to have eyes the color of this water, pale and green, or bright and emerald like Kurama's.

Kurama, he was supposed to check in on her today. The thought of him circled in her head. The way he grabbed her arm so quickly that it made her jump blew her cheeks hot and the strange moment when he stared at her was slightly frightening. His eyes were so bright that she was scared he was looking right into her thoughts, looking right through her veil of bloodied handkerchief and seeing her slightly jealous eyes. If she hadn't pulled away, perhaps he might have actually seen it.

Remembering their encounter made her cheeks glow bright pink. She felt foolish simply thinking about it, as if she was reliving the experience. Her body felt hot and uncomfortable.

"Why did I even mention that?", she scolded herself with a shake of her head,

"Hey," said Maru, interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh? Hm?" Mirim couldn't help but smile, feeling guilty for her embarrassing thoughts when Maru leaned over her shoulder.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, a curious look on his face.

"Nothing, why?" she looked at their reflection in the water,

"Because you're smiling. Are you thinking about someone?" he asked reeling back to comfortably wind her hair around his hand,

"Yes~," she teased, smoothing the water across her legs as she thought about him more, a small bubble of excitement tingling in her stomach when she realized he would be stopping by today.

Maru wrapped her hair completely around his fist, bringing it to the nape of her neck like a spool of thread, then with an affirmative pull, yanked it down so that her back arched away from the back of the tub and her face was to the ceiling lights.

"Ah, Maru," she whimpered, grabbing onto his fist that held her hair to try and pry his fingers away.

He let out a small and short breathy chuckle and towered over her, staring down at his sister's face with a glint of amusement bright at the corner of his eyes, "It's me, isn't it? " he asked, leaning his face close to hers.

She stared up at his similarly dark grey eyes and felt a strange pull, as if she was falling up, a rift in a paradox world. Her bottom lip quivered and the back of her head hurt with how tightly he wound his fist against her neck.

"Of course," she said, her voice slightly tight with how forcefully he pulled her head back. And with those two words she hoped would bring the release of her hair but he stood there with his first ensnaring her dark locks, staring down at her with a foreign look on his face that she didn't recognize as her brothers and for the first time she felt that he was not looking at her with the loving eyes of her twin brother but that of a man.

A strange shuddering sensation, from the nape of her neck slithered down to her toes making her let go of his first to cover her chest beneath the green water.

Maru's brows furrowed and his face drastically changed, he opened his lips to speak but the sound of their front door ringing replaced his words. He looked off into the direction of the door and slowly released her hair. He stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans.

"Get dressed," he said, taking a final glance at her before exiting the bathroom.

Mirim waited till he left the bathroom to cup her hands over her mouth, silencing her gasps and deep breaths. What just happened?

* * *

**Author**

holy crud maru whats wrong with you?  
Haha, okay so, I decided to take a different approach to writing this chapter. I hope that it didn't bother anyone, I decided to add a little more in depth narrative by describing what happened instead of actually writing it happening. Anyway, I'm sorry for not having updated this sooner. I got my wisdom teeth taken out (two bottom) and it was kinda really painful so I just played video games to hide my pain and swollen face. I also am not quite happy with how I disclosed the information about Botan and Kurama but I was re watching a few of the episodes of YYh and I realized that a lot of sillyness happened at the peak of a stressful situation (i.e Who is going to fight ShiShi Wakamaru *serious guitar music* Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama use rock paper scissors to determine the fighter haha).

Thank you for reading, please don't be a silent reader!


	8. Chapter 8

**Rain**

**"**_The only noise now was the rain, pattering softly with the magnificent indifference of nature for the tangled passions of humans.__**"  
― Sherwood Smith**_

* * *

Mirim was sweet and warm, he wondered if her skin tasted the same. Or maybe she tasted the way she smelled, like chocolate and mint.

Even when he sat before her with slightly damp hair and a towel draped around his shoulders her room smelled of that mixture and he thought about adventuring closer to have a taste of her lips to ease his curiosity but temperance prevented him from acting foolishly, as it always did.

She looked up at him, the color in her eyes deep beneath the slightly yellow artificial lighting, "You shouldn't have walked in the rain," her hand briefly rested on his knee to support herself off of the floor to take a seat beside him on her bed, "I told you it wasn't necessary to visit,"

Kurama wiped a drip of water from the end of his red hair and gave her a reassuring smile, "Regardless, I'm more comfortable knowing that you're well," he dared himself closer and spoke honestly.

A light and breathy laugh escaped her lips, "Do you always say these weird things to girls?"

"Just the ones I like," he answered, staring at the side of her face which started to glow a light pink,

"You like me?" her voice jumped and cracked with surprise as she turned to face him, her eyes slightly wild with the sound of her heart thumping quickly.

They stared at each other in silence for a while beneath the loud heavy drums of the pattering rain outside and her heart pumping hard against her chest, his eyes openly expressing how much he is enjoying her reaction- her bitten lip and wide eyes. It made her nervous, the way he was looking at her, the way his head was slowly tilting to the side - she recognized it from the movies, that smooth twist of the neck to reposition the lips. Something she's seen Maru do for a goodnight kiss. Something Kurama was about to do to her! He was close now, bending his head toward hers, his forehead was holding small beads of water from his damp hair. He is wearing a white shirt and he smelled so fresh, wonderfully clean and dewy.

Mirim shut her eyes tightly, waiting, and expectant of him but behind her closed lids Kurama only smiled, holding back a laugh, and patted her shoulder before standing up, "Enough to walk home in the rain for you," he said with a large stretch of his arms above his head, "I'd ask to extend my visitation but I don't think the rain is going to cease any time soon and my mother is expecting me to join her for dinner,". He gripped the blue towel around his neck and blinked with forced naivety at her, "May I borrow this?"

Once she opened her eyes she couldn't believe what she was seeing, the blank slate that was blatantly being expressed on his face was too insulting to bare. Her mouth slightly parted open which allowed a slightly aggravated breath to escape. She lifted from the bed and took the towel from him, trying to maintain her manners by gripping it tightly in her fist but not caring enough to lift the ends that were dragging on the ground, "No, I will lend you an umbrella."

She couldn't exactly explain to herself why she felt so upset at that moment as she dug through her closet. In the past few months that she has come to know Kurama she was careful to show her disinterest with him and keep a special distance between them so why was she so upset that she was denied a kiss, a kiss that she almost didn't even want to begin with. Perhaps she wanted it more than she thought. Her head shook from side to side, no that's ludicrous. Life was content with only Maru. Maru. Maru. Kurama. She would do anything for Maru, anything.

Kurama thanked her for the umbrella, knowing a little about the small conflict that he stirred up in her head, leaving satisfied as he stepped down the mini cement stairs on the patio and through the black gates of her home. He unlatched the metal clutch on the umbrella and pushed up the bar, popping the clear plastic roof up above his head. The delight that he got from the expression on her face with his mean prank almost distracted him from the small dangling note at the end of the umbrella's handle.

The information tag was improperly filled out with his name, a cross out of her own, and a quickly written note at the backside of the card, 'Don't get sick,'. He smiled and let go of the tag, allowing it to hang beneath his hand on the handle. The handwriting was a little sloppy compared to the notes she writes for the customers at the shop but he was still pleased with the cute note. He wasn't quite sure why she wrote it, maybe it was just habitual for her since working at the flower shop, regardless he was glad she took the time to do it. He inhaled deeply, the summer rain lifting humidity from the trees and into his lungs. It made his nose tickle. Then he sneezed.

* * *

Mirim rubbed her face, her cheeks turning red with the pressure of her hands then shook her head, "Why did I do that?" she said, making a sour face.

"Look like an idiot?" said Maru, leaning against her door frame, "You always do, it's really not a surprise,"

Mirim looked up from her corner of the bed, her knees huddled closely to her chest, "Go away, you don't even know what I'm talking about,"

"I remember when you would never say anything like that to me," he sighed dramatically then pushed chunks of his hair out of his face, "Instead it was me yelling for you to sleep in your own room, wasn't it?" a small smirk lifted the corner of his lips as he continued, "Kurama looked surprised to hear that one,"

Mirim's mouth dropped open and she slightly eased off of the corner wall, interested in their conversation that transpired in the wait time of his visit. Unfortunately for her, Maru intercepted the door and apparently had a nicely embarrassing conversation about Mirim as she cleaned up after the bath, "What? Maru?!"

"Oh, don't worry," he continued, "I didn't mention how you used to scare away my girlfriends or try to kiss me every day," he was silent for a moment with a finger tapping at the side of his head, "Or maybe I did, I can't remember,"

In a heated flash, Mirim's neck turned a bright red that traveled to the sides of her face and her forehead, complete embarrassment overriding her senses. This was so typical of Maru, taking advantage of the situations to exact his revenge. All those times Mirim had openly expressed her jealousy and discomfort over his girlfriends was probably the motive behind his actions but she was so young, so confused and protective of Maru that it only frustrated her that he reacted this way, that he could do something so petty whether for revenge or entertainment.

She grabbed a pillow and covered her face with it's cushiony soft body, "You're such a jerk, things - people - change, okay?" her voice was muffled between the cotton.

There was no more glaze or sheen of silly artifice clouding the line of his eyes at her words, instead he frowned and his face slowly transformed into something sedate, like a blank empty white board, "Of course, it's only natural that the love between siblings slowly diminishes once a boyfriend or a girlfriend becomes involved,"

Mirim dropped the pillow from her face and squished it beneath her knees, leaning forward and away from the wall to the edge of her bed, "Maru, that's not true," her voice was much calmer now. With a simple frown she could see and understand, feel, her brother's sentiment. It was like an instant connection, a hard wire tapping into the back of their heads from one end to the other, an invisible thread that fed information that normally an individual would solely feel alone. However, their line was slightly twisted and the wires were sticking through their rubber covers with pointy and harsh edges. They weren't understanding each other the way they each had hoped, no. Mirim completely misunderstood his tongue, his hands, his face.

"Don't say harsh things like that," she continued, watching as he slowly shouldered off of the door bridge and onto her bed, a cat like notion in his liquid movement. He slunk his arms around her waist and rested his head upon her folded lap, his cheek pressed against the skin of her thighs. Maru squeezed her tightly, "Then prove me wrong," he said, his eyes closing with his deep breaths.

Mirim ran her fingers through his hair, her nails gently scratching his scalp. "I don't know how," she answered, treading his dark hair through the slips of her hand.

Maru remained silent, his face unchanging with the soft caress of his sister's hand smoothing over the sides of his face and down his neck like a gentle massage. Mirim patiently twisted individual strands together, playfully styling his hair into pretend dredlocks until she realized that she wouldn't receive an answer from him anytime soon, he was asleep.

* * *

**Author: **Ugh, okay, so I'm just not happy with this chapter, not happy at all. The reason why it took so long to put up was because I can't seem to properly put down what I have in my head for this scene, the words are not coming out! I apologize, I know this is terrible. I plan on rewriting this but right now I simply have no ... I don't know!

I feel like this story is going down the drain and I really want to keep it afloat. ㅠㅡㅠ

I have several different versions of this chapter, all containing different scenarios. :( I'm such a shut out weirdo. gah.

Please don't be a silent reader and once again I apologize. :(


	9. Chapter 9

** Koi No Yokan **

The sense upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love.

* * *

She knew it, the moment she walked into work that morning and saw the dank expression on his face and the dark circles developing beneath his eyes, she knew he was sick and she couldn't help but feel slightly responsible for it. A part of her wanted to void any relation with his sickness, she didn't ask him to visit her, as a matter of fact she specifically told him not to but the feeling was loose and she easily reverted to feeling guilty for his temporary aliment.

She felt even worse whenever he sneezed or coughed, hiding his face away from her in the bend of his elbow, shielding her from his germs. She caught herself staring at him often that day. His skin looked dull and his eyes loomed with lethargic appraise when he had the chance to lift his face to hers.

"Is something the matter?" he asked, staring at her from behind the register table. The store was empty, as it usually was on Thursday evenings. If they had any customers at all they came in the morning, flowers for a quick or late gift to their loved ones. The last resort when they couldn't think of anything else or simply forgot the occasion they were buying for, it was always flowers. A bouquet of roses of course.

Mirim frowned, she didn't like to see him this way, of course he wasn't the most out going or radiant person to be around but there was a certain charm he had that the sickness seemed to drain from him. His energy. "You're sick," she said, barely audibly from her side of the shop, the sound of wind chimes were clamoring over her.

He smiled at her faintly and leaned against the counter, sweeping his gaze over to the large display window where Mirim had previously arranged and redesigned the seasonal items, "It's only a mere cold, it will pass," he then looked at her from the corner of his eyes before completely facing her, "Are you concerned?" his face was calm and it looked as if he was laughing with a small smirk in his eyes although he wasn't smiling.

Mirim felt her cheeks go hot like the night he was in her room and she immediately shook her head in denial, shaking the image of his tilting face out of her head, "No, I know you'll be fine,"

" Your face betrays you," the smirk in his eyes transferred to his lips now and he could see the anxiety building through her body with the slight quivering of her fingers and the way she tucks her hair behind her ear. It was long, her hair and for the first time in a long while it's down, waving over her shoulders and her chest. It looked soft.

The emptiness of the shop made the loud keys from the window chimes sound louder than usual but Mirim couldn't hear any of it, no, she could only hear the loud thumping of her own heart as Kurama slowly pushed off of the counter and walked towards her and although his eyes were tired with a cold it couldn't hide the familiar look in his eye, the same sheen that he had the night in her bedroom. The one that she can't get out of her head and was frightfully facing her now.

Her breath nearly got caught in her throat when he gently grabbed the end of her hair and twiddled it between his thumb and index finger, the small section of black locks twisting with a ticklish tease, "You're hair is down," he said, his eyes lowered to where his fingers held the section of her hair.

"I gave you my last band,"

He looked up at her and released the end of her hair, it unraveled against her chest. "You don't have any more?" The question sounded ridiculous.

Mirim blushed, "They are easy to loose," she felt a little childish exposing this. It was slightly embarrassing and she hoped it didn't make her look unorganized. She only had a small collection of hair accessories to begin with. The only times she likes to wear her hair up is at work or when she is out and about in the heat of summer. Her hair, rarely adorned with clips or ties was always worn down, her average routine, Maru likes it that way.

"I see," he said as he dug in the pockets of his pants, switching from one to the other in a quick search, "Would you like it back?" he asked, finding what he was looking for in the inner slip of his pocket's pocket.

Mirim shook her head, "It's okay, I told you to keep it," she said, her eyes glancing at the object in his hand. It was hidden within behind a folded fist.

"No, no, I insist," he said, reaching up and gently gathering her hair to one side of her shoulder. Mirim froze, slightly startled by his bold behavior but allowed him to continue bundling her hair over her shoulder then securing it with a cute ribbon hair tie. There was something about that gentle pull of the strands that made her want him to run his fingers through the thick of her locks and scratch his nails across her scalp. It was her favorite, but he didn't. His hands didn't venture past the shaft of her hair or above her shoulders. He only looped it through the band and let it rest against the side of her neck.

Small rabbits now danced around her hair within a creamy light blue band. He played with the ends of her hair a little, scattering them around her shoulder as if to perfect the lazy side pony, "That's much better," he said with gentle hands brushing strands of hair out of her face.

Mirim touched her hair and traced along the material of her new hair band, a small smile lifting the corner of her lips, " This isn't mine," she said, amused with his style of gifting.

Kurama tilted his head to the side, feigning ignorance, "Yes, it is. You gave it to me a few weeks ago,"

Mirim raised a brow and tried to look at the hair tie that held her hair together but couldn't quite get a full view of the rabbits that were printed on the ribbon, "No, it's not. I gave you a black one," she couldn't help but smile even bigger now.

Kurama rubbed his chin, "Oh, yes, that's right. I must have lost it," he looked away briefly, "just keep that one. It looks better on you than me," he reached up and slowly repositioned another stray strand of hair that remained wild from the rest of the restrained parts. He traced it across her forehead and behind her ear with adroit hands that made her eyes close from fear of falling too deeply into the green light. He smiled behind her closed eyes, just as he did the night before.

She looked so beautiful, so clean and fresh with her eyes closed and her hair framing her face like the black and white photos on her wall. Even when she slowly opened her eyes and locked them with his, she shined with an adventurous gleam, daring him to push their boundaries and offer her something more. The same glint he saw outside her home in the Makai, outside the ice cream parlor, and the first day they met. There was only one word to describe what he felt, an instantaneous shot to the chest, a bullet of Koi No Yokan. He's tried so hard to capture that shine and now he knew how. Just as he had anticipated, it was drawn to the sweet nectar like a fluttering humming bird and he wanted to savor it before it flew away -before she would fly away- so he leaned closer, lifting his hands and pressing them softly at the sides of her head.

Mirim stood smaller beneath him, he needn't do anything more than a slight bend of his neck to press his lips against her forehead for a kiss. It was smooth and smelled like the sun, just as he imagined. He could feel her skin grow warmer beneath the light touch of his lips and it made her taste even sweeter, it made him never want to take them off her body but he modestly pulled back, a light and soft plucking sound from his lips leaving her forehead erupted between them. She surprisingly giggled childishly but muffled it with a small hand.

Kurama made a confound smile, amazed but feeling slightly apprehensive about her reaction, he began to blush when the bell above the door rung.

"Lunch delivery!" shouted Botan, the sound of a large bag being placed on the counter followed after her voice along with pattering footsteps.

"What are you doing?"

Mirim felt her heart fall to the pit of her stomach and get destroyed by the acid that settled there at their sudden guests.

Maru stood behind them, a hand placed in his pocket while the other held a brown paper bag. There was a look of discomfort on his face that made both Mirim and Kurama feel uneasy. His eyes looked from Kurama to Mirim, a small focus on the hair tie in her hair, then back to Mirim's face, "You forgot your lunch," he said finally, his gaze switching over to Kurama's lethargic one. He lifted his chin in Kurama's direction, "You look terrible,"

Kurama tapped the tip of his nose with his knuckle and sniffled with a tilted bow of his head, "It seems I caught a small cold yesterday," he wanted to smile but couldn't force himself to do it when Maru grabbed Mirim by the arm and pulled her away from his side. Instead he quickly reverted to a consternate expression, his face grim and straight.

Maru stared hard at Mirim, his hand still gripping her arm, "Well don't get Mirim sick!" was all he said when Botan approached, unaware of the bizarre behavior that just occurred.

"There you are! Kurama, I brought the noodles from Yusuke's shop," she tilted her head to the side and looked at Maru when he released Mirim's arm. Botan patted Maru on the back, her face becoming feline, "And I ran into Mirim's lovely brother on the way over here. I guess he didn't know you were going to order out today," she looked down at the brown bag that Maru was holding and scratched at it with a playful finger, "If Mirim doesn't want her lunch I know I'll have room for seconds!" she let out a silly laugh that she carried alone until she halted it with a stifling breath.

Kurama breathed in and smiled, "Thank you, Botan. You have perfect timing," he directed his gaze to Maru who was standing with a temperamental wrinkle above his forehead, "Would you like to join us?" he asked, the smile on his face starting to break down.

Maru stared at Kurama, a falsehood of curtains shielding his thoughts from the fox's probing eyes, then smiled lightly, "I just needed to drop off Mirim's lunch, but since she wont be needing it - I have to head to work," he placed her sack lunch on a counter then turned to Mirim who began to look awkward beside her twin. H squished her cheeks together, playfully but quite painfully, and spoke through gritted teeth, "Don't get sick, eh?!" he said before she could rip her face out of his hands and rub her reddening cheeks.

"Yes, okay~" she replied, seeming to shy away from him as he grabbed her cheeks again and lifted her face to his, kissing her right cheek, close to the corner of her lips. "I love you," he sang before releasing her. He waved at Kurama and Botan, an aggravatingly arrogant smile peeled across his face, "I'll see you guys later," he mused, taking his leave but not before he abruptly plucked a red rose from the bush besides the entrance door, twisting it between his fingers as Kurama did with Mirim's hair.

Botan clapped her hands together and awed at Maru's retreating back, following the black of his back till it disappeared around the corner of the street," You're so lucky to have a brother that takes care of you~" she rang, poking Mirim's sore pinched cheeks with bright red painted nails. Mirim swatted a hand at Botan, trying to shoo her away like a fly or much like how she tries to get the neighbor's cat, Friskers, off her porch.

"Let's just eat," she said, her eyes remained mid level until they all settled at a work bench where she seemed to recoup and function normally again.

* * *

Maru twirled the stem between his fingers a little longer, staring down at it as he walked down the street, images of Kurama kissing his sister's forehead twirling within the red petals of the rose. He felt his jaw clench. He made it pretty clear, with an open aura, that he was there and yet the fox continued his seemingly harmless flirting with Mirim. Maru could just see his green eyes swiftly glancing over in his direction, not giving two fucks that he could see everything transpire from behind the display window. The thought made him twist his lips to the side impatiently. It only made him more upset once he pricked his finger on one of the small thorns.

He ripped the petals from the stem and tossed the green stick to the side, suffocating the petals within his fist. The red reminded him of Kurama's hair. It held the same shade, a velvety smooth red, almost crimson. It was actually a really romantic color but Maru continued to crush the petals until they withered within the heat of the immense energy he concentrated to his fingers. Within a matter of seconds, the red petals were burned black and crumbled into thin crispy ashes that he released as he walked.

"Tainted," he spat.

* * *

**Author:**

Don't be a silent reader!

And a quick Thank you to Leh Star for the advice and to the two nice anon's :) My wisdom holes don't bother me anymore haha

and of course verry-chan, Lilcookie, and izzymay for their consistent support and reviews. You guys make this a really lovely experience and I'm really excited to put out the best for you guys.

Maru is starting to get a little more aggressive here, and I'm hoping that you guys are able to see a few interesting foils I'm attempting to make? hehe


	10. Chapter 10

**Jealousy**  
"Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo."  
― H.G. Wells, _The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman_

* * *

Kurama was caught in the rain again, this time in Tsuyu, but he was prepared with his clear umbrella to protect his head from the thick droplets of rain. He offered to share with his companion, Hiei, but the small demon refused to stand so closely with the fox beneath a human contraption that would only shield half of his head anyway. He preferred to follow in the shadows of the lining forest around the small town.

The surrounding buildings were small that had short pathways to the door of their homes, much like Mirim's, only they were still standing. Blocked off with a small yellow line of tape, Kurama and Hiei surveyed the burned down home, not really finding anything relevant or outside their knowledge. There was a dark brown molding spot where her grandfather's body used to be, a shapeless blob stained the carpet with a pungent odor. Neither of them acknowledged it.

Feeling unsuccessful, Kurama and Hiei exited the charred building, "You suspect her brother?" asked Hiei, taking a final glance at the burned walls.

Kurama placed his hand in his pocket and let out a sigh, his breath manifesting a warm cloud that dissipated into the air, "I suspect that he knows more than he leads on," He stepped beneath the yellow tape and was greeted by a strange man standing on the outskirts of the path. He was staring, waiting for them to come closer.

"If you're looking for the twins, you wont find them," called the man, standing beneath his black umbrella.

Hiei and Kurama looked at each other before slowly approaching, "Excuse me?" asked Kurma, a slight squint of his eyes,

The man let out a low laugh, "Mirim and Maru, you wont find them. Knowing Mirim, she probably booked it the first chance she had," he rolled his eyes but smiled regardless of the bitter comment.

"And who, Are, You," asked Hiei, annoyed with the stranger's immediate incompetence.

The man's eyes slightly widened with surprise before placing a hand on his chest, "I'm sorry. My name is Damen, Mirim's finance," he stopped for a second to let out another laugh, "Well "abandoned fiance" I guess," he shrugged a shoulder,

It took Kurama a small moment to process the entirety of that sentence before he could come up with his next question, "The girl who lived here?" he asked, sounding slightly surprised. There needed to be a form of clarity here for the fox to accept what he had just heard. Not that the man seemed to be a threat or even relevant in Mirim's current life but that comment was a lot thicker for Kurama to swallow than he thought it would be. He suddenly didn't like this man.

"Yeah, it was arranged but it wasn't a bad deal, you know, with her being a fucking prodigy and all," the man smirked before pulling out a light brown wallet from his front pocket and splitting it open to flip through the photos he had sealed within transparent cards, "I mean, I have a family now and it's great and all but damn, sometimes I think about her and can't help but wonder what happened," he rambled, trying to finger out a photo with his thick hands.

"Prodigy?" Hiei scoffed and crossed his arms, closed to any memories of her displaying any form of power at all.

The man furrowed his brow slightly offended, "Well yes, Mirim is exceptionally talented in manipulating the elemental properties, mainly fire. Aside from Maru, I was the only viable companion for her. None of the other males here could have been able to keep up with her, that's why our marriage was arranged to begin with,"

Hiei opened his mouth to ensue with the insulting comments but Kurama quickly intervened.

"Was the whole family approving of this arrangement?" asked Kurama, redirecting the conversation.

The guy managed to slip out the photo, a loud popping noise breaking from the plastic of the card. It must not have been removed for a long time. He looked at the photo, his thumb rubbing against the gloss of the image, "Sure they were, except well obviously Mirim. We never really talked in school, she didn't really talk to anyone, so she didn't like me much to begin with but once our parents arranged for us to be married I think she just started to hate me," he seemed to be staring at the photo for quite some time before he held it out between Kurama and Hiei, not quite sure who to give it to."Here's a photo of her, just you know, if you happen to see her..You can keep it, I have plenty."

Kurama nodded his head and accepted the photo, "And her brother?" Kurama looked at the picture, a portrait of Mirim in her final year of school. She stared straight into the camera, her eyes lacking any luster or motivation. No smile. It almost seemed like a completely different person. He wasn't familiar with that face.

Damen shook his head, "Oh man, Maru," he clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, "He was so cool. I wonder if he still lets Mirim run him with a tight leash?" he let out an amused laugh, "You know, she put that kid through hell, I liked Mirim, but she was something else when it came to her brother," he flipped through a few more photos and shook his head, not finding what he was looking for, "Maru was okay with it, at least he pretended to be, sometimes he freaked me out though," his lips twisted to one side of his face, remembering an uncomfortable encounter with the boy "One time, I walked in on them and he was-", he shook the thought away, "My wife is waiting for me," he smiled and raised his brows instead of his hands, "Look me up if you guys find anything new or want more information. I live right down the block," he pointed with a straight finger down the street, then left after they acknowledged his position.

Kurama nodded his head with a light smile and waited for the man to disappear from around the corner of the street before turning to Hiei with a puzzling expression lingering on his face, "Well, that was unexpected but useful,"

"Hn, if you believe anything he says. Elemental prodigy? The girl could barely control the fire that killed her parents,"

Kurama placed a thoughtful hand beneath his chin, "She supposedly was a brooding teen with a brother complex as well, I'm not quite sure how much of his story is true considering her... Opposite characteristics,"

Hiei lifted a brow in the fox's direction, "What? She bleeds on your shirt and she suddenly has personality? She avoided you like the plague until recently," he looked off into the distance where the wet forest quietly sat, "Mirim definitely has an interesting relationship with Maru, that much is a given from that freak's story,"

"It's nothing more than a complex, sibling jealousy," added Kurama, an empty expression veiling his uncomfortable settlement with the disturbing presence of Maru in the flower shop. The amount of anger that he evoked from the demon by simply displaying his interest and fancy for his sister was more than unnerving and only increased his suspicions.

"Perhaps her sick brother killed their parents to avoid the arrangement,"

Kurama dropped his hand from his chin and took another look at the photo before pocketing it, "After his display of jealousy the other day, I wouldn't doubt it,"

* * *

"Maru, are you sure we're home alone?"

"Of course," he said, kissing the softness of her inner thighs to make her giggle and squirm like a worm.

"More," she begged, slipping her finger between her hip and the elastic band of her skirt to take it off.

"No," he said, grabbing her hand and climbing on top of her, "Keep it on," he smiled. The less of her he could see, the easier.

He stared down at her and twirled a strand of her hair around his finger, it's blonde color looked like strings of gold spilling over his bed. "Have you ever thought about dying your hair black?" he asked, unraveling her hair and quickly letting it fall from his hand.

She looked up at him with a confused face, her brows furrowing close together creating small wrinkles on her forehead, "What?"

Maru shrugged a shoulder and propped her legs up around him so she could cross them around his hips, he fit perfectly between her legs. He leaned down, closing any opening for more conversation and kissed her, sending heat into her body and beneath the sheets. Her confusion quickly disintegrated with a backwards roll of her eyes and a gasping mouth.

She could hear the girl giggle from down the hallway of their rooms, it was irritating. Her voice was so loud, Mirim wondered if it was intentional until it slowly grew quiet and her voice barely peeked over the sound of the wind blowing outside. She tried not to listen to the sounds that gave away what they were doing but it was practically impossible not to.

Her brother's name crept from the crack beneath the door and into her room with a whispering moan that made her cover her face with her pillow. She could hear everything with a disgusting clarity that her cheeks became red and her head hurt but she remained quiet, still, and hidden beneath her blue sheets.

Maru watched the girl put on her shoes then flip her hair over her head, the golden waves perfectly settling around her shoulders before scooting to the edge of his bed and pulling out a wrapped box from beneath the frame, "Come here," he said, straightening up and placing the rectangular box on his lap.

She raised a brow and smiled, taking a seat beside him on the bed and resting her chin on his bare shoulder, "What's that?"

He stared down at the box, a small smile on his lips before placing it on her lap and shrugging her head off of his shoulder.

Her eyes widened with excitement and her fingers slightly trembled as she lifted the cap off of the box and took out a beautiful black dress. The dress was sheer between the bust and the loose quarter length sleeves with opaque dots within the transparent material that traveled down through the rest of the dress. A small belt was wrapped around the waist, a silver butterfly adorning the black band.

Maru lit himself a cigarette and flopped back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling to watch the smoke rise up, "Wear that tomorrow," he said through his teeth to hold the white stick in his mouth.

She stared at the expensive looking dress for a while before leaning over and placing a kiss on his cheek happily, "Am I meeting your mom or something?" she joked, standing up and folding the dress back into it's carrier.

He sucked the poisonous fog hard into his lungs and spewed it out through his swollen lips, the grey smoke quickly racing to the top and splitting into thin clouds around his ceiling, "No, my sister," he answered without looking at her, "It will be our birthday, so do your makeup pretty."

The girl tucked the box beneath her arm and nodded her head, "I always look pretty for you," she said before opening the door and leaving his room.

* * *

**Author: **This is more of an informative chapter that I needed to put in to drop the next one. I'm sorry if it's not that interesting and I purposely left out a few of the emotional musings that I normally elaborate on because I think it's pretty obvious, right? At least, I hope so.

I'll probably have the next chapter up pretty quickly since I'm super excited about writing it :D

Please don't be a silent reader!


	11. Chapter 11

**Happy Fucking Birthday.**

_"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean."  
― Maya Angelou _

* * *

"Can you put your phone away?"

Mirim looked up from the blue glowing light in her lap and smiled awkwardly, placing her hands on the clothed table.

"I'm sorry," she said, a hollow apology.

Kurama didn't come to work that day and reasons as to why he wasn't there were occupying her mind. She couldn't come up with a valid reason as to why he would skip out on work, unless, he was involved with another project for Koenma that she was unaware about. She told herself that was most likely it, especially since he wouldn't answer or reply to any of her calls and messages. She would have made several more calls throughout the day but she stopped herself before she could appear desperate or needy, although her ears really itched to hear his voice. She could care less about enjoying her lobster dinner and the girl her brother dragged along to their annual celebration.

Mirim recognized her as the girl that he brought over last night, but she smelled of ammonia insteaf the inside of Maru's mouth this time. It wafted off of her head, and Mirim could only assume that she recently dyed her hair. For a small moment, she wondered why she dyed her hair, the blonde was much more flattering and complemented her skin better. She dismissed the thought once the girl smiled cheekily. Without much care or interest, Mirim didn't want to look at her. Every time the girl opened her mouth to take a bite of her steak, the imaginary sounds of her late night escapades ringed in Mirim's ears. Unpleasant and annoying. Everything about her was annoying.

"I love this restaurant," she said, smiling at Maru.

Maru nodded his head and slowly lifted his fork to his mouth, a single green bean stabbed at the end.

"Mirim, you haven't touched your plate yet," she said, raising her brows as she peered over to her side of the table.

"I'm not that hungry," she felt as if she was under the eyes if watchful parents.

"Yori is treating you, you could at least have a sip of your wine," shot Maru,

The newly colored brunette, Yori, placed her hand on Maru's leg in hopes to calm the growing hostility between the siblings,

"No, it's fine. If she's not hungry-"

Bzzzt,

Mirim glanced back down at her lap where her phone displayed her new message.

"Seriously, Mirim, put the fucking phone away,"

She lifted her gaze to her brother's face, the blue light illuminating the length of her neck, her eyes hooked onto Maru's as she grabbed her wine glass and began to drink the heavy liquid that sat half full. Her eyes loomed over the crystalline wall of her cup. She could see the intensifying anger in her brother's eyes from the rim and as she finished off the red liquid, the glass slowly revealing the rest if his face. Without taking a breath in between, she finished the wine then placed it down gently on the table. She raised two fingers out from the side of her person and a waiter immediately refilled her glass with the wine that sat inside the iced bucket, she drank that too, this time setting the cup roughly on the table. The white table cloth muffled the otherwise loud clank of glass against glass.

Mirim held in the bubble that was rising in her throat and stood up, fixing her dress around her legs before pushing in her chair. Maru rolled his eyes and took a drink of his own wine, refusing to further acknowledge her.

"Thank you for the birthday drinks," Mirim said, taking a step beside Yori, the smell of ammonia now at it's peak. She looked at the side of her brother's face. He could never look at her when she behaved this way, it reminded her of their school years. Normally, it would bother her and she'd do anything to make him look her way again however, tonight, she couldn't find the slightest bit of sympathy for him, not with what he did, not this time. Mirim was always the one to feel bad for acting out of jealousy or pure foolishness. He always made her feel wrong.

"You look beautiful in my dress, you should keep it," Mirim said, before taking a final glance to the side of her brother's face and leaving the restaurant, her face lighting up a pale blue again.

Yori let out a heavy breath, completely appalled but instead of comforting her or apologizing for his sisters behavior, Maru pushed out of his chair and stood up. He pulled out his wallet and pinched a few bills out between the leather folds then flung them onto the table, "Leave enough for the waiter," he said.

Yori's heels clacked behind him as he strode down the side alley of the restaurant. The smells of mixed food and steam hung heavy in the air but between the mess of summer night air and pollution, she was there. The smell of Mirim's vanilla blossom perfume was barely traceable when Yori grabbed Maru's arm and pulled him to her.

"What the fuck was that?" she almost screamed, stepping in front of him.

He rolled his eyes and took out his wallet again, quickly this time, "What? Was it not enough?"

Yori slapped his hand away from the leather wallet, "I told you, I wasn't doing this for money. You said you liked me.." her voice began to crack,

He sighed, trying not to loose the scent that laid hidden beneath the wash of the world and pushed his way through Yori, "Then keep the dress," he looked down the fork of the alley, trying to determine which way Mirim went but once again was thwarted by Yori's persistence.

"I don't want the dress, it's your sisters!"

Maru shrugged his shoulders, attempting to ignore the woman but she sealed her fate the moment she followed him into the alley, her mouth shooting off more than what she estimated to evoke from the stalking demon. Maru turned right, the perfume wasn't there. He turned left but nothing besides cold air entered his lungs.

"Why did you let her be so rude to us?,"

Maru suddenly turned around and grabbed her shoulder, slamming her against the nearest wall, it's body traced with an uneven skin of breaking brick and jagged cement mulch. She gasped out loud her face inches away from his balled fist.

He allowed it to hover there for a moment before he untightened his fingers and flicked her nose with his index, releasing her shoulder and placing his hands in his pockets, "Because, she is my sister," he answered, "And if you don't want the dress, take it off,". He really wanted to hit her.

Yori stared at him dumbfounded, her nose slightly red, "Are you serious?"

Maru shook his head, "You said you don't want it, so take it off," he held out his hand expectantly but she remained still, staring blankly at him.

A small smile lifted the corners of his lips awkwardly and he let out a small breathy laugh as he stared at his black shoes scrape the disgusting floor. It lowered her alarm and made her feel less tense, perhaps he was only joking, he did flick her nose like she was a naughty child. This man has visited her a numerous amount of times within the past few months, he's never been this rough. It must all be a joke.

However, the moment her shoulders relaxed Maru lifted his gaze to her face, his smile replaced with a tight jaw, "FUCKING TAKE IT OFF!" his voice launched through the alley and echoed off of the small walls that surrounded them. His arm was slightly shaking with an uncontrolled ferocity that she could see within his dark eyes. Even the blind would be afraid with how much animosity vibrated through his voice.

His voice thundered in her chest and made it shake. She was scared.

* * *

Mirim's heart was beating hard as she stood on the quiet patio, her finger resting on the door bell with a gentle apprehension that prevented her from pushing it in to ring. Kokoda finally returned her message and informed her on Kurama's absence. He wasn't on a special side mission for Koenma, but instead sick in his bed with the Flu. He wasn't on a special operations but Mirim thought it would be clever to make it her own personal mission to ensure his quick recovery. It would make the best birthday gift to see him with bright eyes again and yet she couldn't find enough courage to press the button and enter his house.

Once she finally did, after a long wait, there was no answer and her heart became doubtful. It was much easier the second time, to press the door bell but there was still no response from the other side.

Her friends Worry and Curiosity placed her hand on the door knob which she twisted and surprisingly found unlocked. She sucked in a breath, further contemplating whether or not to enter, it held her on his patio a little while longer until she reminded herself of her mission. She wanted to see him better, she wanted to see him, period. The worst thing that could happen, knowing Kurama, would be an awkward conversation about how she shouldn't enter anyone's home because their doors are unlocked. Mirim risked a future conversation for the sake of Kurama's health and her own personal delectation.

She closed the door quietly behind her and was pleasantly not surprised with the way his apartment looked. It was white, clean, and modern just as she imagined it would be. His furniture was well matched with white sofa's and glass tables. Everything seemed to have a place to go, a corner or cupboard where it belonged and fit - clean.

Almost uncontrollably, her hands were fingering the lining of his book shelf, the round of her index finger scaling from one closed spine to the next. The small padding sounded like a rhythmic beat that matched her heart; steady and a quiet hum. He owned an interesting collection of books that varied from fiction and documentary. Mirim could pick out which ones he studied for work and others he read for pleasure; "The Great Gatsby" was a book she recognized from her own collection. As a matter of fact, it was her book. Looking at it now, she practically forgot that she lent the book to him. The wrinkling cover and white crease that hemorrhaged through the blue and green image on the spine made her smile. It's wear and tear was a sign of late night reading.

"Mirim?"

Startled, she immediately withdrew her hand from his books and turned around to see him leaning against a wall in his small hallway. His skin looked much duller than it did the day before and his eyes were half closed, she must have woken him up.

He pulled his blanket tighter around his shoulders and blinked with a delay, "You shouldn't be here," he said finally, his words catching up with his thoughts.

She frowned and turned her back to him, facing his book shelf again, "It's my birthday so I think I should be here. I wanted to see you,"

Her answer slightly surprised Kurama but his face refused to express the proper emotion, with her back to him she wouldn't be able to see it anyway. He let out a low chuckle and forced himself to straighten up, "I'm not in the fit condition to celebrate with you tonight," he said apologetically as he examined her from behind. The red dress she wore complemented the small curves that began beneath her ribs. His hands would fit nicely around them.

She looked over her shoulder to him, "I know," she said, her cheeks pink with rhubarb wine, "Have you eaten and taken medicine?"

Kurama shook his head and soon found himself sitting at his dinning room table, his large blanket over cushioning his chair and a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup steaming up his already warm face.

Mirim leaned over the table, resting her chin in her hand that she had propping herself up by her elbows, she smiled cheekily and with an amount of energy that he seemed to feed off of. Her presences was enough to keep him awake and interested although he was feeling extremely uncomfortable with how vulnerable he was. He was in no way, shape or form, prepared for her visitation and it showed with his shaggy hair and lazy home attire. Sitting before her with her face so close and obvious set attention, her bright eyes made him feel a little unworthy.

He must have been staring at her for quite some time because she began to frown and straighten off of the table, "It's not gourmet but you need to eat something before taking your medicine," she said a little impatiently.

"I'm sure it's delicious," he said, trying to retract any negative build up as he slowly picked up the spoon and put it in his bowl to swirl the noodles and herbs around before scooping up a variety of the soft vegetables and noodles. He managed to get at least one small square chunk of chicken on top of everything else. He lifted the spoon to his mouth to take his first bite, "Careful," she said, "It's hot,"

Mirin sat besides him and leaned over his shoulder to gently blow the heat from the small portion of soup he had on his spoon. The steam dissipated into the short distance beside their cheeks but that wasn't what made Kurama's face so red.

The soup was, like she said, not gourmet but he enjoyed it none the less, it set nicely in his stomach as he laid down on his bed, a liner and comforter fluffed around his body. The salty broth still lingered at the tip of his tongue which made it easier to swallow the minty blue medicine that Mirim spoon fed him two times, each time giving him a warming reminder of his small exchange the day before with a glance of the rabbit ribbon wrapped around her wrist. The pale pastel blue was easily noticeable between her olive skin and the red dress. It stuck out like a sore thumb and didn't match with her classic style but with every overly minty spoon he smiled. It actually surprised him a little that he even had human medicine in his house until he realized it came from her purse. The drugstore receipt stuck out from the open top.

"When are you leaving?" , he didn't want her to go.

"When you fall asleep," she said, sitting on the edge of his bed. She didn't want him to sleep, sleeping always made her feel lonely.

"I don't want you to get sick," he said but he wouldn't mind if she got a little closer, even if it did put her at risk. If he could, he would stay awake with her all day and all night.

Mirim looked at him laying in his bed, bundled by a large mound of blanket fluff and wanted to dive right in to feel the warmth of his body, his unnaturally ill warmth but instead she carefully leaned over him and pressed the bottom of her wrist against his forehead.

Her face was serious but Kurama laughed weakly. She withdrew her hand.

"What's so funny?"

"You're acting quite motherly,"

Mirim couldn't help but feel the smile creep up on her face, he always seemed to make her smile, "Well, I am another year older. Time changes people, doesn't it?"

"Is this how your mother cared for you when you were sick?"

She allowed a small moment of silence to flow freely between them before answering, "She would use her cheek to check my temperature. She said it was more accurate than the wrist," her voice was quieter.

He could see her reminiscing through the windows of her eyes, behind her black lashes was a thin film of her past life.

"Show me,"

"What?"

"Show me how your mother took your temperature,"

That free flow of silence made it's way back in as Mirim scooted closer to him. His body was close to the edge of the bed, forcing her to climb over his outstretched legs to bring her face closer to his. She stared straight into the green of his eyes, "Okay," she said before leaning in closer. She gently placed a hand on the back of his head and guided him to lower his forehead until it met the side of her cheek.

It was warm. Warm like the summer sun pressing down on you through the breaks in a tree. The same kind of warmth you get from closing your hands over a mug. The warmth of a kiss.

He rested his forehead there for a small while, her warm skin feeling cool against his hot one until she pulled away.

"You still have a fever," she said, the pink of rhubarb wine still flushed upon her cheeks. He wondered how much she drank before stopping by.

Mirim stood up and left his bed, leaving him to succumb to the power of the medication and get some much needed forced shut eye. It was still some what early in the night, the sun replaced by the bright pale moon and it's beautiful stars and Mirim wasn't ready to go home. It would be wrong for her to abandon her mission and not see it all the way through. His fever was still high.

She lingered around his living space for a while, excited to explore but eventually submitting to the boredom and loneliness herself and falling asleep on top of his white carpet in front of his television to the sounds of the monotone news anchor.

And that's the way he found her when he woke up a few hours later, his body aching from the stiff position of his sleep but his mind clear and fever reduced.

"Well," he said with a light laugh and a smile to himself.

She slept with her knees slightly tucking into her chest and her hands flat beneath the side of her head. The end of her dress was riding up her thighs and her back, revealing a length to her legs that made Kurama look away feeling slightly guilty for seeing so much of her body. He immediately covered her with a blanket, tucking the sides beneath her body where he could.

She looked lovely, she always did even when she was digging in the garden or now, sleeping on his floor. Her breathing was small like her frame beneath his blanket and he watched the sheet rise and fall, following the collapse of her chest. He didn't want to get her sick but he also desperately wanted to touch her, to be closer to her and explore her. There was nothing stopping Kurama from bringing his face closer to hers, so close that he could see her eyelashes flutter in her sleep with dreams she won't remember.

He stared at her for a while, so mystified and caught up in her rapture that he didn't notice someone approaching from the outside, that their hand was already on the door knob when he leaned down, bending his neck, "I'm sorry I can't give you more. Happy Birthday," he said before pressing his lips softly against her tender pink ones. Her skin smelled like vanilla, soon it will be roses, and her lips tasted like sweet wine. He was drunk off of everything about her and would have stayed much longer to revel in her high until he was no longer capable of tasting anything else, if his front door didn't suddenly open.

* * *

**Author**

Don't be a silent reader! I have so much planned :O


	12. Chapter 12

**Regret**

"Time was passing like a hand waving from a train I wanted to be on.  
I hope you never have to think about anything as much as I think about you."

-_Jonathan Safran Foer_

* * *

Mirim stared down at her feet as she walked home, her shoes padding softly against the shadowed cement. With each step she was releasing an echo of disconcert and with each stride came a welcoming night breeze to cool her pink cheeks of their embarrassment- then there was the murmur of heartache and doubt for leaving. Like a double edge sword, her relief expelled a hesitation that made her feel incomplete.

Mirim shook her head and sucked in a deep breath recalling the events that just happened. How heavy her heart thumped awake with the loud sound of the door opening and the sudden sound of Yusuke's mocking voice exhausting her to the point of fleeing. That wasn't what caused her to shake her head so firmly though, no, it was the image of Botan's face that she desperately tried to negate and disassociate with the foggy kiss that she could barely remember as a hazy dream. Botan's bright eyes were shining a light in Mirim's mind that she couldn't put out no matter how dark the night was, so she ran. The further away she was, the less likely she would turn around and the further away she would be from the embarrassment of the sudden guests, Yusuke's words, Botan's eyes, and the doubt and uneasiness that clouded her heart.

Once she arrived home, she was safe from the uncomfortable thoughts but anticipated a rude greeting from her twin, which she surprisingly didn't receive when she joined him on the patio. He sat quietly in his chair with his eyes closed, a gently breeze winding back pieces of his dark hair.

Mirim sat beside him and cleared her throat but he didn't open his eyes. Instead he brought an unlit cigarette to his face and slipped it between his lips. It bobbed up and down briefly before settling nicely between his pink skin. She hated when he smoked but loved the way it made him smell. The green menthol added the mint to his coffee perfume. His scent was so strong it practically oozed from his pores and as much as she hated the damn thing sticking out from between his lips she wanted the wind to blow in her direction so she could smell the familiar perfume that comforted her when he held her at night and right now she desperately wanted a little comfort.

She didn't know what she did, or if she even said anything but Maru began to smirk. He lifted a brow and peeked an eye at her, as if he had read her mind and knew what she was craving, what she needed. With both eyes open, he stared at her casually as he lifted a finger and pinched the butt of the stick until it gradually heated into a small ember strong enough to hold upon the white paper. His eyes loomed over the small red and orange light at the tip of his mouth, she could feel her cheeks getting warm from his silent stare. His hair was messy from the wind but still managed to lay perfectly on the top of his head with stray strands falling into his eyes and his face blurred behind the smoke that slowly lifted from the end of his cigarette.

With two skinny fingers, he pivoted the stick between his slender hand and eased a curling wave of smoke from his nose that dissipated into the emptiness of the navy blue lighting between the siblings. Mirim smiled awkwardly. There needn't be any words of apology or even a small note to acknowledge any tension between the two. Like the smoke that swayed into an invisible string, it faded and disappeared while leaving layers of residue behind.

"Where did you go?" he asked, turning his gaze to the emptiness of the night.

"Kurama was sick," she stood up and made her way to the railing, outstretching her arms down the length of the cold metal.

"The point of him not going to work was to avoid getting you sick as well, but you go and visit him anyway?"

She shrugged her shoulders, unsure of a response. He didn't say anything for a while, she could only hear the breeze rustling through the trees and a few wind chimes wailing in the distance before the sound of him getting up from his seat and the few foot steps it took for him to close the gap between his chest and her bare shoulder.

His cheek pressed against her neck and for a small moment, she was startled, expecting the burn from his cigarette but then she saw it smoking at the end of his hand that rested at his side.

The ends of his hair tickled her skin as he nuzzled his face further into the bend of her neck, suffocating himself with her warmth until he could feel the outline of her bones, "Mirim," he said, muffled behind her hair.

She could smell the scent of espresso waft from the top of his head and up into the air, as if she was sitting in the coffee shop right now, awaiting her order, her special orders that were always topped with the heart shaped candy. The habit of the smell made her believe something sweet was at the tip of her tongue.

"What, Maru?" she asked,

He took in a deep breath and could smell Kurama's roses layering with her vanilla perfume but remained hidden within her neck, his lips barely resting against her skin, "If you get sick, I wont forgive you,"

She could feel him speak against her neck, she wanted to shiver against the warmth of his lips.

She looked from one star to the next, "Why?"

He shook his head no, and she could feel every bit of it with the gently whipping of his hair against her back but he said nothing. He couldn't build enough courage to tell her how he truly feels or to express how uncomfortable the thoughts of her being contaminated, ruined, and tainted by the association of someone other than himself made him want to hide her from the world. He couldn't say how much he despises the fact that she enjoys the company of the red headed man and how jealous it makes him feel when he sees them laugh or how much doubt had filled his heart knowing that she was with him only a few moments ago.

The smoke from the cigarette lifted and surrounded them, enveloping them in Maru's heavy mixture that over powered her vanilla scented skin and her lightly rose brushed lips.

He lifted his face from her neck to take another hit of his cigarette, straightening up behind her to do so. He released the smoke from his nose again, this time much quicker as he stared at the burning stick between his fingers, the ember being the focus of his gaze.

"Because, you'll get me sick ,"

Mirim slipped away from him with a smooth step to the side and crossed her arms over her chest. The night air felt much cooler against her hot skin, "Well, if you get sick, I'll make you some soup," she smiled, thinking about the pot that is probably still sitting upon Kurama's stove with some left overs meant for him to finish later. She felt herself getting anxious with concerns of whether he liked it or not. She hoped he did.

He laughed, "Yeah, right, If I wanted to die,"

She stiffened before playfully shoving his shoulder, "Okay Mr. Cook, take care of yourself then when you get sick AND you will, eventually,"

"Whatever, just spread your germs elsewhere,"

"Spread your germs elsewhere," she mocked before turning around and heading for the glass sliding door. She separated the two pieces and stepped through before he suddenly called for her to turn around, "What?" she asked, looking over her shoulder, an exhausted expression weighing down her eyes.

Maru had moved to the railing, his back towards her as he rested his crossed hands over the white painted metal, his fingers twisting the cigarette in between their gaps to shake the excess ash from the end."I'm sorry, for earlier," he said, his voice quieter.

Mirim stared at his back. She could see his bones point out from the sides of his shoulders with a subtle obtrusion of his skin. It was round and blended into his back and disappeared behind his shirt. She was so familiar with that part of his body, she memorized the curves and shadows at night when she couldn't sleep and found herself creeping beside his sleeping form that always reciprocated with an exhausted sigh, turn of the body, and warm arms to hold her close into his thumping chest.

Mirim smiled and slowly looked away, "You know I've done worse," she said, honesty in her playfulness.

* * *

Kurama sniffled, then sneezed. His fever was gone now but he still suffered from a few of the symptoms. The aftermath of his illness made the tip of his nose pink from using tissues to blow his nose. It hurt whenever he needed to clear his nose again, but he didn't have much of an option, either endure the chaffing to breath or suffocate.

With the way things had ended with Mirim, he would have preferred the latter but optimism assured him that he would have the opportunity to redeem himself.

Botan rummaged through her purse and held out a small clear bottle of hand sanitizer which he gladly accepted a dab upon the palm of his hand to spread around the rest of his smiled, "One of my favorite inventions. We don't want anyone else to get sick, now!" she placed it back into the zip of her purse.

"Heh, right because we all know that Mirim's got whatever Kurama has now ," The microwave pinged for Yusuke to remove the bowl from it's mouth and he quickly left the living room to retrieve his food.

Kurama sighed and smoothed his messy hair out of his face, "Perhaps you should familiarize yourself with the door, Yusuke," he said.

He laughed, returning with a hot bowl of soup cupped between his hands, "Yeah, yeah, whatever lover boy. If we didn't stop by you would have been interrupted one way or another. And how was I supposed to know you were makin' the moves?!"

Botan uncomfortably closed her hands upon her lap, twiddling her thumbs together.

"Like I said, familiarize yourself with my door. There is something, that I'm sure you're aware of, called a bell and-"

"And, what? Hiei just creeps in your home all the time like a damn gremlin through the freakn' window,"

"But unlike you, I know when it is appropriate to make an appearance," said the hidden guest, his arms crossed and hidden within a corner of the room, which happened to be near a window.

Yusuke raised his brows and pointed to Hiei with a discriminating finger, "See? Seriously," he sat down on the floor with his legs crossed, placing the bowl on the floor between his bent legs.

Kurama recognized the salty smell to be the soup that Mirim made for him earlier, he frowned and hoped that Yusuke's bowl wasn't all of the left overs. "Remind me, why you are here, again," he said.

Yusuke brought a spoonful of soup to his lips and blew the steam away until it was cool enough for him to place in his mouth. He swallowed the liquid and pocketed the solid bits to the side of his mouth to speak, "So get this," he chewed, "Koenma visited Tsuyu to get a hold of the original copies of the freak twin's family death certificates and once he arrived at the city hall, some man recognized him. I guess some guy from their school, anyway, this guy tells him that he used to work with Maru in city hall,"

"So, he had access to the records," said Kurama, his eyes lifting from Yusuke's bowl to Hiei who was thinking the same thing as Kurama. They immediately knew what man Koenma had met with.

"Not only did he have access," started Botan, her brows furrowed together, "but he possibly forged them,"

Yusuke shook his head, "Well, we know that one of them was forged and that's only because we fucking found his body, which brings us here,"

"Koenma is suspecting that the twins are more involved than just being victims and so we need to have collaborative stories when we tell them we are closing the investigation," added Botan.

"Yeah, and excuse me for not familiarizing myself with your door but we can't use the telecommunicators until they are shocked. Koenma also believes that they have been hacked by whoever killed their grand daddy," he shook his head.

"That is quite a nuisance," Kurama finally said, rubbing the side of his head, troubled with more than simply finding a way to recover from his earlier embarrassment.

"Tomorrow their graves are being inspected by some of Koenma's men," said Yusuke, coming to the end of his bowl, "All we have to do is give them the ring around until we find out what is really going on," he brought the bowl to his face to finish off the liquid that remained at the bottom. He let out a loud sigh and then stretched, the bowl lifting high above his head in one hand. The warmth of the soup was relaxing his body. He smacked his lips a few times and looked around at his small audience casually. He rested a hand on his bent leg, placing the bowl down beside him, "Welp, my money is on the creepy brother,"

Kurama thoughtfully rubbed his chin, "He definitely does have some suspicious characteristics about him,"

"And Mirim is probably trying to secretly kill us all off or something," joked Yusuke, raising his brows and puckering his lips in Kurama's direction.

"It's possible," said Kurama, "She must have poisoned the soup she made earlier, I'm feeling fatigued," he lazily covered half of his face with a hand then let it slowly slide down dramatically.

Yusuke choked on his own spit and immediately stood to his feet, "Ugh!" he grabbed his stomach, "but it was so good,"

"A common distraction many victims have succumb to,," ensured Hiei.

Yusuke picked up the plastic bowl and chucked it at Hiei. It flew across the room and landed safely in Hiei's small hand, a small bend remolding the perfect circle of the rim.

Kurama sighed, "Please, don't break my dishes too Yusuke,"

Yusuke fanned a hand in the air, "Ah! Whatever, I'm out, I've said my peace," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and making his way to the door, "I'll see you guys later," he pointed two fingers from his head into the air and exited, closing the door loudly behind him.

Hiei watched Yusuke leave from the edge of the window, his black shirt disappearing behind the wooden window frame as he continued down the street until he was no longer visible through the glass. He waited a few seconds before looking over his shoulder at the blue haired girl who sat coyly beside his red headed friend. His lips slightly parted and a breath escaped but he bit his tongue then turned to the window and slid the pane up, allowing the elements of the night to enter into Kurama's apartment. "We'll speak later, fox," he said before leaping through the opening and escaping into darkness.

Kurama stood up and closed the window, a playful sigh breaking the silence between him and Botan, "Remind me to speak to him about using the door, as well," he said, picking up the bowl that was misplaced upon a counter.

Botan smiled and rubbed the side of her arm, "Some things never change," .

Her words were double lined and it made him slightly uncomfortable suddenly being alone with her. There were many times where they had only wished to have moments alone together, sometimes even purposefully set up situations so that they were the only ones in a room but now his stomach was slightly churning and he wanted her to leave.

To avoid certain conversations Kurama remained standing, casually cleaning any traces of Mirim's visit; the blankets on the floor, a book slightly pulled out from his shelf, and the remote to his television that she left on the floor where she slept.

Botan watched him shuffle across the living room, feeling unsure of herself the more he moved around in silence. She tried to think up ways to tell him how she felt, to milk out information of what transpired between him and Mirim, or to simply ask him how he felt but her heart was palpitating with doubt. All she wanted was for things to go back to the way they were. She wanted to say that being friends was enough, but she as a Chaser and she knew that the lie would burn her mouth. She wanted to say that it would be okay if they were not together and that she only needed things to be the way they used to. If he could just look at her with those friendly green eyes again without the anxiety, discomfort, or second guessing and just bring back the caring and honest color that she was so familiar with but she knew that it wouldn't be enough. She desperately wanted his love again.

"Botan," Kurama started,

The sound of her name brought her eyes from her twisted hands to his calm face, and for a moment she was slightly dizzy, too wrapped up in her thoughts to properly return to reality but she focused and nodded her head, "Kurama?"

He stared at her a small while before smiling with furrowed brows, he looked slightly unsure, "Would you like something to drink?", he held Yusuke's bowl in his hand.

She could do without but nodded her head and followed him into the kitchen, wondering if he felt as uncomfortable as she did. It wasn't like her to be this quiet but this was the most unwelcome she's ever felt, regardless she was smiling.

She took a seat at the dining table and could see a placement mat already set out, there were small drops of dried liquid upon the mat, the smell of fresh soup lightly wafting from the shapes.

"I don't have much of a selection," he said, looking into the light of his fridge.

His face looked even paler against the white light that shone against his skin. Botan wanted to touch it to make sure he was still alive but instead she stood up behind him to peek over his shoulder at the items within his refrigerator. Like he said, there wasn't much of a variety of drinks, it was always the same and was exactly the way she remembered from when she last looked inside his refrigerator with the exception of a somewhat small white cardboard box hiding in the lower back of the second tier. The box was plain with no special markings or branding to imply what could be inside, although she did have a pretty good idea of what it was,

"What is that?" she asked, reaching over his shoulder with a pointed finger.

Kurama briefly looked back at Botan then to the object that she was pointing to, "Oh," he said, "That's a cake," he grabbed a jug of cold water out before closing the door.

Botan stepped back and followed him with her eyes, "Cake?".

Kurama nodded his head as he filled two small glasses of water, "I bought it from the bakery down the street," he added, handing her one of the glasses.

She took a sip of her water. The air within his home was so quiet that she felt every movement was exaggerated with the sound of her clothing move or her feet stomping too heavily upon his floor. She couldn't remember ever feeling this uncomfortable inside his house before. Perhaps, it was the question that she wanted to ask him nagging at the back of her head, or the fact that he gave her a glass of water when she knew there were bottles of wine within the high cabinets, or maybe even the image of his face so close to Mirim's sleeping one that she was sure he was giving her a good night kiss.

The status of their relationship made her bottom lip tremble across the clear walls of the glass but she spoke, her hands cupping the glass close to her face and her eyes drifting within the transparent liquid, "Kurama," she started out brave, "Do you ever regret letting our relationship end?"

He was silent, choosing his words carefully before answering. Whatever answer he could have given her would either hurt her now or hurt her later, it was a lose - lose situation and the moment he was left alone with her in his home he was dreading the conversation.

Kurama let out a sigh and leaned his hip against the round of his cooking counter, he shook his head, "No, Botan. I don't, but that doesn't mean I regret dating you either," he stared at her from where he was. A good portion of her face was hidden behind her hands and the cup. Through the design cut glass, her face was distorted and unnaturally wide but he knew she was frowning with her eyes shut tight, trying to summon her courage like she does with her magic portals.

"Well, I do! I regret it!" her voice was much louder and shakier than she had meant for it to sound. She removed the cup from her face and placed it down upon the table and stared back at Kurama, her eyes glossing over with a thin layer of tears and desperate reach to pull something from the red headed man. "I regret breaking up with you," she said, much calmer now but her face red with embarrassment.

She suddenly stood up and Kurama straightened at the sight of her approaching.

"I still think about us and how happy we were together," she said, reaching for his hand.

"Botan, " Kurama became even more uncomfortable once she raised his hand within hers. She cupped his hand within both of hers, squeezing it tightly as she spoke, proposing more than just her feelings.

"And I can't continue like this, I can't just be friends and watch you..." her voice began to trail off, "watch you continue without me!" it rose back up and she lifted her face to his, raising his hand to her chest where he could feel her heart pounding heavily against the surface.

He looked from their hands to her face, "Perhaps, you should re-evaluate why you initially decided to end our relationship," he said, speaking calmly through the stale air.

She stared at him intently but he remained quiet, silently sucking her courage with his intense stare and lack of response. The blush on her cheeks eventually deepened enough for her to drop her hands from his and take a few meek steps back. A forced smile curled up the corner of her lips and she bobbed her head understandingly, "You're right," she playfully smacked her head, "Silly me, jumping out and saying those things," she felt foolish but she didn't know how she expected him to say or react to begin with. Regardless, she was shut down and her gut was churning. She remembered the last time she felt like this, he embraced her, encasing her shudders within the closeness of their bodies. However, this time she knew she wouldn't get that same amount of comfort from him now, at least not like this.

* * *

**Author:** Please accept my most deepest apologies! My work place has become so chaotic I was not able to give this story as much attention as I would have liked. However, because I uploaded this chapter late I have already begun on the next quite a head of time to get myself back on schedule.

Anyway, I feel that this chapter is a decent size, after the amount I wrote out I decided to cut it here and have the rest carry in the upcoming chapters. I'm sorry if you feel that this was a filler but there was information that needed to get out there one way or another. It is definitely not as intense as I would have liked, regardless, I hope that my readers enjoy it and continue to look forward to the next chapters.

Thanks to everyone for sticking with me this far. 3


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